XMen: The Element Zero Theory
by WeirdVision
Summary: Some people fight along with the mutants, some fight against them and some just struggle to survive. The Cure didn't work and it's time for Professor Xavier to pull out another ace from his sleeve and make peace once and for all. R&R if you like. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

X-Men: The Element Zero Theory

**X-Men: The Element Zero Theory**

Fingers danced rapidly over the small keypad by the front door. It was a dark night, no moon in the sky, and all she had to dwell on was her memory. It had been a while and she wondered if they still used the same code. She could have just knocked, but she wanted to make an entrance, to impress him, show him she was worth keeping and being helped. Even if she suspected he would have helped her anyway. Damn it, she just couldn't get rid of him.

For someone of his weight he was moving effortlessly over the grass, making no sound. He was returning from a walk around the school grounds, sort of a midnight inspection, when he saw someone at the door about to get in. The person obviously had clearance to enter, since the door opened from the first try. Still, something didn't smell right to his expert nose, and it was not her perfume, which he didn't recognize. He was positive he had never seen this girl before and that was one of the signals that started the alarm bells inside his head. The other was her body language that screamed 'sneaking in' from a mile.

She refrained from letting out a relieved sigh at the familiar click of the door and walked in. He followed right behind her, unnoticed until his arm slipped around her in an attempt to immobilize her. Dormant reflexes kicked in and, after one fraction of second taken to estimate that her attacker was bigger and stronger and only an element of surprise could turn this to her advantage, she slammed her elbow back into his stomach. He didn't loosen his grip on her but he did lean forward a bit under the impact, which allowed her to throw a fist up and break his nose. This would have incapacitated pretty much any human for at least a few seconds, enough for her to get away from him, but it failed to work this time. He sent her spinning towards the nearest wall which she crashed against, seeing stars. Then she heard a metallic noise and, the next thing she knew, sharp blades, no, claws, were pressed against her chest. Now she remembered why she hated this place so much, she could never win in a fight against the mutants, even the less dangerous ones.

"Hey, look who's here…" they heard a voice and a set of footsteps approaching along the corridor.

"Hey, Storm…" she turned her head to smirk at the silver haired woman.

Logan was fazed, no real fighter would have moved attention away from the opponent and still this girl, woman, he corrected himself, had. Another thing he noticed was that she wasn't scared. Her heart was beating faster and she was flushed from the effort, but there was no real fear in her eyes. She'd lived with mutants for several years, she knew them, they could torture her, even kill her, but they could not scare her and, in a foolish sort of way, she was proud of that. Of course, Logan couldn't know that.

"You're early," Storm commented. "The Professor said you might come in tomorrow."

Should she have been surprised? He'd always been one step ahead of her. "Does he require appointments now?"

It was Storm's turn to smirk. This was how she remembered her from the brief time they had known each other. "Let her go Logan." She paused for a stronger effect. "She's one of us."

It felt strange to hear Storm say that. She had never considered herself one of them; she could work with them if needed, but she wasn't one of them, for obvious reasons.

The larger mutant arched an eyebrow, but the claws did retreat into his fists.

"Come with me, I'll take you to the Professor." Storm gestured for the other woman to follow her.

She pulled away from the wall and followed Storm, after glancing at Logan briefly to store his image in her memory. He was doing the same thing, taking in her features, long dark hair, almond shaped dark brown eyes, full pink lips, almost as tall as Storm though with a body type slightly different than the athletic mutant's body. He watched her leave swaying her hips and favoring her side where she had hit the wall, while the soft locks kept bouncing on her back. Suddenly, he wished he hadn't pushed her so hard.


	2. Chapter 2

Not much had changed in Professor Xavier's office while she'd been gone

Not much had changed in Professor Xavier's office, while she'd been gone. There were more gadgets laying around the place, no surprise there, but it was still as neat, clean, and dust free as she remembered it.

If the inanimate objects had remained the same, the people hadn't. Only Storm was left from the old gang, or team, as the Professor liked to call it. As she was a couple of years younger, she had been still in school and had never made the team. Some had left, others had died, and others had joined in. Like that Logan character, who had bruised her arms and ribs so well she was all black and blue underneath the clothes she was wearing.

She had spent a good part of the night reading their files, all but one, the one she could never get to. Funny, how her access hadn't been denied after all this time. The Professor must have really trusted her, either that or he was going senile, which she doubted. So, the new team leader was Storm which wasn't a surprise – she knew how lethal Storm could be – with the Wolverine as second in command. She had to admit, she admired his claws. Aside from them the rest were mostly kids. OK, teenagers, but since she was past that phase, she could call them kids. None of them had been attending the School by the time she had run away, during the last year of high school. Still the best decision she had ever made, she reckoned. There was Rogue and Iceman, interesting combination she thought, and then there was Angel. Oh, yes, and a girl who'd just entered the room, obviously late, Kitty, and another two whose names she didn't remember.

"Hello, everyone, glad to see you made it," the Professor looked pointedly at Kitty who didn't react, being used to it. "I want you all to meet Stardust," she nodded shortly when her name was mentioned, "our new team member."

Surprise was written on everyone's faces and, to some degree, on hers too. She should have known it was a trick, this was what the Professor had wanted for her all along, though what she could be good at, she had no idea. She kept her mouth shut, she had no right to protest, he was offering her shelter and, what was most important, protection when she needed it the most, and it was only fair to expect her to do something for them in return. She hoped the others would be against it though, and she wasn't wrong.

"No way." Logan shook his head and turned to say to her "No offence…"

"None taken," she smirked. Like any good team leader, he didn't want a new recruit who knew nothing about their operations and would only get in their way. She would have kissed him for that, but he wasn't the one in charge and, in spite appearances, Storm wasn't, either. The Professor was. She gave the Professor a look saying 'See? He doesn't want me. Not my fault.'

Storm didn't say anything but thought about it, tending to agree with Logan, though for different reasons. Again, she knew it wasn't personal. Storm might be cold towards some people but she wasn't unfair.

"She's new here…" Logan started to gather his arguments.

"Stardust attended our School a while ago… and was at the top of her class while she was here," the Professor informed them. "She knows the basics."

"She doesn't have the physical training required for our missions," Logan argued. He knew, because he'd fought with her the other night, and something had definitely been missing. He didn't realize yet that she hadn't used her powers.

"This is why she won't work on the field. She will collaborate with you from here." The Professor had an answer for everything, when he wanted to give you one. Too bad he didn't want to give her the one she needed the most. "She will be under my direct supervision, you have nothing to worry about."

Her grin turned into a grimace. He'd won. Logan could protest as much as he wanted, but she knew the Professor had won.

"I don't like it," Wolverine growled. For some reason it amused her. He still hadn't learned he wasn't the one who called the shots? The Professor was, always the Professor. Logan exchanged a glance with Storm, consulting her, and she eventually nodded. It could have been worse. "OK, she gets one chance. If she messes up, she's out." It looked like everyone agreed on that and it brought a bittersweet taste in her mouth, to see that things hadn't change one bit after all.

"She won't." The words sounded so final. It wasn't even a threat, it was pure conviction, there were too many lives at stake for her to mess up on purpose just to get out of the team. She was stuck.

"What's her power then?" Logan insisted.

She held her breath. What was the Professor going to say?

"It will all be revealed in time." Xavier smiled and she wanted to slam that bald head of his against the wall.


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you trust her

"Do you trust her?" The question was addressed to Storm. In the large kitchen Logan was digging in the fridge looking for some misplaced beer. Mutants or not, the kids were still kids and they liked to vandalize his well-hidden beer stash, now and then, especially since they weren't allowed any.

Logan wasn't the only one waiting for the answer while Storm took her time thinking about the question. On the other side of the door, the person in discussion was just reaching for the handle to open it, when she'd heard him speaking.

"Yes, I suppose I do," clear blue eyes looked up at Logan after a short hesitation. They didn't know each other well, had never been friends, really, but it was impossible not to remember her. "She had a good reputation when she was here… in a way" Storm rolled a shoulder; there was more to it, but she wasn't sure she wanted to get into that, though she would if he asked.

"What's her story?"

"Why don't you ask me?" Stardust walked boldly inside, advancing towards the middle of the kitchen.

"I am asking," he replied, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Knock yourself out." Storm smirked and picked up the tray with food she had prepared for a student who was sick in bed with a regular case of summer flu.

Both pair of eyes watched her leave wondering what she meant by that, one of them having some sort of idea but keeping it to herself. The brunette moved by him and went to open the fridge. "I wonder if there's any of the cheese cake we had for dinner left," she mused, leaning forward to look inside.

Logan watched her curves with an appreciative look and said, "If there is, it's not in there. It's probably hidden so the kids won't use it as midnight snack." He turned around towards the cupboards lined up against the wall and used his nose to identify the one containing the cake. "Here it is." He showed her a plate with two generous slices left on it.

"Thanks," she grinned and offered, "you want some?"

He shook his head, he had other things on his mind.

"A beer then?" A naughty smile lit her eyes.

"There is none, I've checked," he grumbled. The stock in his room was empty too. He needed to go shopping.

"Third cupboard from the left," she pointed with the fork. "Knock twice and press," she instructed him.

Logan gave her a disbelieving look but did as told. "It's not opening," he announced.

"Try three times." A moment later he was holding a beer can in his hand. It was even cold.

"Thanks… I didn't know it was there." He'd been there for how long? he wondered.

"Did you ever bother to ask?" she said, tilting her head.

She had a point there. He never had, was used to take care of his needs by himself. Maybe he should consider changing that. Nah, too much trouble. He pulled a chair to sit across the table from her and leaned back.

"OK, now I'm asking. What's your story?" For a loner, Wolverine was quite a nosy one.

She tried to keep an even voice as she spoke; it was all in the past now and he needed to know it if she wanted him to trust her. It didn't mean he was going to do that after listening to what she had to say.

"I was twelve when they brought me here. They bring kids after the mutation starts to manifest, which usually doesn't happen before puberty, but somehow the Professor managed to convince my parents that this was the place for me." The sarcasm in her voice was obvious. "There was no mutation at the time. By 14, there still wasn't. You know how mean the kids can be. Everyone around me could do cool trick, only I couldn't. Of course, they assumed I didn't want to, so they tried to force me to use my powers. I got burned, chilled, frozen, cut, teleported, sent through walls, stuck to the ceiling, you name it, so many times I've lost count. I was spending most of my time in the infirmary and, since there was nothing to do there, I started studying. Soon, I was better than anyone in any class, except for the power control classes, which I was excused from eventually, with the Professor's approval. I was labeled as the Professor's pet and given sort of a break. I ran away when I was 17 and lived with an aunt until I finished high school. A scholarship helped me get into college where I was considered human and treated as one. Those were the best five years of my life," she sighed.

"I take it you don't like it much here." One didn't have to be a genius to figure that out. "Then why did you come back?"

"Last week, my file somehow got to the authorities. They tried to hunt me down. I ran away again and hid the best I could, but it didn't last long and I had no other place to go. So, I came here. At least I'm safe here, for now."

"You are," he assured her with a nod. Her story wasn't worse than others he'd heard, she seemed to be one of the happy cases. She didn't look too marked by her past, other than being ironic and lonely all the time, which was a main characteristic of all mutants. "And your mutation?" he wanted to know. What exactly were her powers?

"Still waiting for that to happen." She shrugged. Wrong, she wasn't waiting, she knew that it was never going to happen, she just knew it. Xavier was a fool if he believed otherwise.

Now it made sense why the Professor wanted to keep her at the control center at the base. "So no mutation and you don't know how to fight either," he concluded.

"Boring, eh?" she smirked.

"No, just something we should work on. The second part, I mean. I can teach you how to fight." he offered.

"Thanks, but I'm not interested." She could bet the entire women population of the school couldn't wait to work out with him, he just seemed the type that made women turn their heads. "I know enough to get by." Learned at the school of course. "I did break your nose, didn't I?" she chuckled. "Besides I don't wanna grow all those muscles and turn into a freak."

Was this how people saw him? Half of his body mass consisted in muscles, the rest of it was bones covered in metal.

"The Professor might have a different opinion," Logan pointed out. All the mutants worked hard to acquire strength and fighting skills. Not her, she wasn't one of them. Yet.

"Screw him," she muttered and she meant it with all the proper respect she had for him.

In his office a smile twisted Professor Xavier's lips as he heard their conversation in his head. His little protégée hadn't changed much, he was pleased to discover.


	4. Chapter 4

The alarm woke her up in the middle of the night, well not only her but the entire school and she probably wasn't the only one who groaned and hid her head under the pillow

The alarm woke her up in the middle of the night, well not only her but the entire school, and she probably wasn't the only one who groaned and hid her head under the pillow.

"The Professor needs us." Storm poked her head through the door and left it open as she ran ahead.

The whole team was already gathered in the control center located underneath the school grounds. Again, she noticed how small the team was these days.

"Angel has been kidnapped by Magneto's men. We've just been informed of the location where they're keeping him," Storm said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Oh, goodie, we'll see some action, she thought sarcastically.

"We should go get him right now," Logan decided lifting his eyes from some plans he was studying.

She hid a yawn behind her hand, still not understanding what she was doing there. She was a rookie, they wouldn't let her participate and give her the chance to ruin the mission.

"We don't have enough people," Storm interfered. "Cannonball is on the field and hasn't returned yet," she reminded them. With Jean dead, that left only two adults, Logan and Storm, as main resident members. Iceman and Rogue were there, too, even if Rogue's powers were not quite adequate for what they had to do. If she had any.

"Take Kitty with you," the Professor decided and the girl sitting by the computer turned to give him a half surprised, half excited look. She hardly ever got to see any action, she was the computer geek.

"She's not ready. And who's gonna watch the monitors?" Logan grunted.

"Stardust will," the Professor replied. Instantly she was awake and straightened her back to show she was ready for the job. She'd spent countless hours playing with those monitors, spying on people she'd never met, just for the fun of it as a kid.

Logan gave her a long quizzical look clearly not liking the idea. "I don't know…" he shook his head while putting on the video and audio device. The others were already equipped.

"The three angles video cam isn't working right," she murmured, ignoring him, and frowned at what she was seeing on the screen. "None of them are."

"We had to change the settings and use just two," Kitty told her. "The mainframe can't process all the live feeds simultaneously although it should be able to..."

"I'm not surprised with all the processes running on it," she mused. "OK, we'll run it through the students' server. It's not used at night so it should work. We'll get a 2 second delay because of the communication process. Is that acceptable?" She looked at Xavier for approval.

"It's not secure," Kitty asserted.

"We can make it secure tomorrow, for a first try it should be enough," she stated still watching the Professor.

"OK." It was all she needed to hear and she set herself to work.

"I've got Logan, Storm, Iceman, Rogue… Kitty your left angle is still not working," she warned. Kitty tapped two fingers on the cam. "It's working now!"

"We're on." Storm announced and the team walked outside on the corridor and from there headed towards the jet.

"Let me hear you, guys," the voice speaking in their ears requested. Everyone said their names and stated their location so the audio signal could be associated with the heat and movement signatures the local sensors were picking on. "Logan, set your mic sensitivity higher, you might hear us but we don't hear you." Logan whistled and the Professor covered his ears. "That's better."

With Storm as pilot, they flew silently over the city and landed on a private property, half a mile from the bunker where their objective was. They left the jet in stealth mode and ran east protected by the darkness of the night.

"There are two guards outside the south-west entrance," she announced, watching the readings of the long distance sensors. "Seventeen more people on the ground floor. The target is one story below on the East side. No guards there, apparently." She found that a little strange, but maybe they weren't expecting to be attacked in their own home. The school had made the same mistake once.

Rogue had managed to sneak close to the guards without their noticing her presence and placed her bare palms on their hands. One man fell down immediately in a deep coma. Logan had to help a little with the other one, but they both went down without a sound and weren't going to wake up any time soon. Unfortunately, Rogue couldn't use that trick too many times, the 'cure' she'd been given hadn't worked in the way it was supposed to, her powers were gone but not permanently. If she focused hard enough, she could still use them for a limited amount of time. The same thing had happened to all of the cured mutants.

Guided by the directions coming from the base, they infiltrated and managed to advance without running into anyone. On the other side of the building, Kitty was setting a couple of trees on fire for distraction, which brought out several armed men and set a bit of panic into the troops' moral. So far, no one was aware of the mutant team's advance towards the stairs leading below ground.

"Here we split," Logan said quietly, once he set his foot on solid ground again, and locked eyes with Storm for a brief moment. She was the official team leader and helped Xavier run the school but, while in the field, she counted on Logan's input maybe a little too much, trusting him completely.

Even if the sensors' readings showed no guards, they couldn't be trusted. They had to attack from all sides at once, to have more chances to get Angel out. Iceman went to the right with Rogue, Storm went to the left, while Logan followed the main corridor. He remembered the building plans he'd studied earlier, there had to be a crossways before reaching the room where the kid was held. He picked up a sound coming from the other side of a door and approached it carefully. He didn't fancy a bullet in the head, it would give him a headache.

"Come on, not now…" A nervous hand tapped the monitors. One by one, the screen flickered and all the images disappeared, leaving the monitors blank. She glanced at the Professor, panicking for a moment, but he calmly stared back at her. There was nothing he could do. "Logan, I've lost visual, all visuals… Do you hear me?" Had she been wrong? Was the server down because it couldn't handle the amount of transferred data? She checked the connections, everything seemed to be in order. Then what the hell was going on?

Logan groaned internally. Great, she couldn't tell him what was on the other side of that door. He pushed open the door and looked inside. Empty. Odd, he was convinced he'd heard a noise and his ears didn't usually play tricks on him.

No video, but the sensors were coming back to life, and she leaned forward to check where everyone was. Iceman was the closest to the destination, though the girls weren't far behind either, and Logan… wait a minute…

"Logan, there are two of you!" she exclaimed frantically hoping he could hear her. It seemed impossible but two individuals with identical signatures were clearly present on the screen. "One's in the corridor and the other one is in the adjacent room."

There it was that noise again. There _was _someone in there. Logan turned around and reached for the handle again.

Ah, there it was, the signal was coming back. What she first saw was Logan's hand preparing to open the door.

"Logan, no… it's a trap!" she exclaimed.

He only heard the word 'trap' when the audio signal kicked back in but due to the 2 seconds delay the warning came too late. He had already opened the door and was now staring at a mirror image of himself.

It was quite a spectacle to watch two Wolverines fight, but not while staring powerless at a screen. Iceman and Rogue had run into someone, too, and she focused on helping them, as she saw that Logan could handle himself. He was going to get a little bruised from it, but he would be fine, eventually. He was, but he lost precious moments, and he was only able because he knew his powers better than the woman who had impersonated him, and had fought her before. Mystique. Her powers ran out when his claws were inches away from running through her neck and he knocked her out with one fist strategically aimed at her pretty head.

"Thanks for the help," he cursed under his breath and threw her limp body over his shoulder. Mutants didn't usually take prisoners, but this one might turn out to be useful, after all. Right across the corner he met with Storm and Rogue, while Iceman had been detained somewhere on the way.

They soon discovered why there were no guards around, a metal door had been considered enough to keep Angel prisoner. The inside walls had to be made of metal too. Where was Cyclops when you needed him? Mystique was dropped to the floor and Wolverine's claws tore through the door. His wrists hurt at the impact, but they did reach the other side and a small opening was created with difficulty. Not enough for his large frame to pass through, but sufficient for the girls to jump through and help Angel out. He was limping, but other than that, he didn't seem to be hurt.

"Quick, there's an army coming this way!" Iceman yelled, out of breath.

"You can't retreat the same way." The voice spoke clearly in their ear pieces. "Go to the right and take the elevator." It was a risk they had to assume, being trapped in that metal box, but while everyone was gathering downstairs, they had to find the fastest way to get above ground and out.

Logan grabbed Mystique once again and went ahead, leaving behind fallen bodies and holes in the walls. The elevator didn't turn out to be a problem, but once they got out of it, they realized they were on the opposite side of the building.

"No time to get to the exit. You need to make one."

"Clear the way," Storm requested.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky above the building and lightning struck in the middle of the wall. Wolverine's fists did the rest and he jumped out first, followed closely by Storm and Rogue, who were helping Angel. Kitty saw them and, coming out of hiding, she ran ahead to help them. Unfortunately, that move revealed her position to the men left to deal with the burning trees.

"Kitty, no!" Logan roared seeing her turning to run away instead of using her powers. The simulation they'd been using for training didn't put much emphasis on bullets, focussing on much bigger things, so her reaction should have been expected. Not ready, damn it! A bullet had already left in her direction. It hit her in the back making her fall on her face on the grass. Who cared the two men were already dead?

The rest of the team followed after as Logan ran to pick up the girl and Iceman sealed the opening with a thick layer of ice. No one could come after them the same way. For a few precious moments, they were sort of safe. Angel lifted Kitty up, and Storm carried Rogue, and they both flew to the jet, while the other two men ran through the forest in the same direction. They'd had to leave it far enough not to be detected and now it seemed to be too far, but that was a given during each retreat, when everyone felt like they were running out of time a second too fast.

"We're coming home," Logan announced as Storm lifted them up in the air.

"Prepare the surgery room. Kitty's been shot," Storm added.

A sound close to a blow echoed in their ear making them wince. The Professor watched the innocent speaker that had been thrown at the screen almost cracking it but didn't comment. His companion slumped back in her chair and groaned. "I hate this job!"

_Welcome to my world_, he thought.


	5. Chapter 5

One of the hardest things to do was waiting especially when one's life was at stake

One of the hardest things to do was waiting, especially when one's life was at stake. In a room inside the infirmary, the team was waiting for the surgery's results. They'd had to bring in another doctor in Jean's absence and now they were all waiting to see his magic take place. There wasn't much speaking, most of the eyes were being held down, various degrees of guilt haunting them. They should have been there for Kitty, they should have protected her, they should have done something.

One pair of eyes refused to lower though, she'd done nothing wrong, and they watched Logan pace around the room pensively, knowing he partially blamed her. He hardly looked at her and, when he did, she could have sworn he had claws in his eyes, too. For some reason, having him mad at her hurt. What good was it to be part of a team, when one of the strongest members didn't trust her? She would have to talk to him, explain things, make him see the truth.

Logan was not ready for any of that. The waiting was killing him, there was not enough air in the room, he couldn't breathe, and if anyone addressed him he would have snapped back, his claws popping out. He left the room before he hurt someone, grumbling under his breath, shaking his head and, entering the big conference room, attacked the liqueur cabinet. Grabbing the first bottle that came in sight, he uncorked it and downed half of it, wishing he could get drunk, really drunk, at least once, and preferably now.

The main reason that had convinced him to stay and become a member of the team had been his belief that he could prevent such situations. In his mind, he relived once again Jean's death, twice, and shuddered, closing his eyes. His ears warned him before his nose did that someone was entering the room. He let out a warning growl, whoever that was better not bother him, he was not in the mood for chit chat.

She frowned as she watched his curbed back, shoulders slumped down, one arm propped against the wall. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but people talked and she'd heard stories; she wished she could help she just didn't know how. When one's weak, someone else has to step forward and be strong for him. Distract him.

"Logan…" she said tentatively restraining the impulse to reach out to touch him.

"What?" He turned abruptly like an animal inside a cage startling her a little.

Uh, don't let him intimidate you, he's just a man… with the strength to cut her in half in a moment. "Can we talk about…"

"Your screw up?" he retorted, lowering his head slightly and peering into her eyes.

"I did not screw up!" she protested.

"No, it was the computer's fault," he replied sarcastically.

"No, it wasn't…"

"Then it was a human error." For a brief second he looked almost satisfied that he'd proved his point. No he wasn't, he was bitter, and angry, and… She'd never seen him in full rage, she didn't know what she was up against, or she would have been more careful.

"No… I think it was…"

"It doesn't matter what you think…" he growled.

"Yes, it does, I'm part of this team too!"

"Oh, now you're part of it!" he mocked her. "How convenient. Next, you'll start to argue not to be expelled," he snorted. "And I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with it." His voice went dangerously low.

"I didn't. It's not something I'm keen on doing and I am not fit for it, but I did not sabotage the mission," she stated.

"Do you think I like going around killing people, being shot all the time?" He slammed the bottle hard on the table making her jump.

She took a long look into his haunted eyes as if looking for the right answer and then shook her head slowly. "No… You do what you have to do… and you did it again tonight. We all did."

He wasn't convinced of that. "I should have protected her. It was my responsibility," he muttered going back for the bottle.

She sighed. "Don't… don't do this to yourself…" her hand reached to touch his free arm. "I've seen the same thing you saw, remember? There was nothing more anyone could do. She should have stayed hidden. You were right, she wasn't ready."

He didn't hear much of the last part, his eyes on the small hand touching him. He could put up with a lot of things, but he didn't do comfort and tenderness well. "Perfect, wasn't it? Send her there, get her killed… one mutant less to worry about." His tone was accusing again.

"She is not dead." I hope. "And if you imply that I'm working for them…"

"Then what? What will you do?" he snapped stepping closer towering over her. "You don't have any powers to fight with, or did you just happen to remember that you actually have one?" He was mad. If she said yes, he would slice her and serve her in sandwiches for breakfast.

"It's not always about powers." She held her gaze against his.

"Then what is it about?" The volume of their voices was rising fast.

"Acceptance!"

It was a word he didn't know. He couldn't, wouldn't accept it. It was too easy, and he always did things the hard way. Two sets of claws shot out and her eyes opened wider, watching with morbid fascination as they approached. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out as she stared in shock at the blood staining her sleeve. If he'd hit a little harder, he would have cut her arm off, but he must have had a sadistic streak in him, 'cause with the last bit of restraint he had settled for only grazing her skin. Two quick moves with both arms, and triple marks were left on her arms, legs and torso. She hadn't even had time to try to defend herself. Eyes filled with pain stared at him for a lasting moment, then she gasped, more like a whimper and slid down the wall, her legs giving up on her.

"Guys, Kitty is…" Storm rushed in, but stopped in the doorway at the sight of the woman curled up on the floor in a quivering ball. "What did you do?" She frowned worriedly at Wolverine, who looked just as shocked as her.

He hadn't done this, had he?

"Help me get her to the infirmary!" Storm ordered loudly to make him snap out of the daze he seemed to be caught in.

Logan shook his head as if waking up from a dream and gave Storm a disconcerted look, not knowing what he was expected to do. Then the words finally registered and he easily lifted the bloody mess into his arms and carried her to an empty room inside the infirmary.

"Put her here," Storm instructed, leading him towards the consultation table where the woman was laid. "Now get out! Out!" She waved her hands at him throwing him out and he left immediately, almost with relief. He didn't wait in the corridor, but slid in through the next door, where he discovered the two rooms separated by a large wall, partially made of glass.

"Stay with me…" Storm said demandingly to her patient.

"Am… here…" she gritted between clenched teeth. "…hurts…"

"I know.… I'm gonna give you something for the pain in a minute. But first tell me, were you stabbed?" It was hard to tell.

"No."

"Good." Storm went to search through a cabinet full of small bottles and returned with a syringe. "There," she murmured after she tore the sleeve open and administered the shot.

An unexpected calm took over Stardust, making her muscles relax. The dose would have knocked out a horse, but the pain was still keeping her awake. "The doctor is busy with Kitty so I'm gonna have to clean those wounds for you," Storm announced.

The Professor's chair rolled silently into the room where Logan was. He watched the man watching the action in the other room and waited patiently for him to say something. Logan had too much fury, frustration and pain bottled up, so it wasn't a surprise that he'd lashed out eventually. The way he had done it, though, was quite a shocker.

"I could have killed her…" Logan's voice sounded empty.

"And yet you didn't," the Professor said, playing the voice of reason.

"It's not safe to be around me. I should go…" Logan's eyes flickered towards the door. He didn't want to leave.

"Why don't you ask her what you should do?"

Logan turned his head to give the Professor one of those 'are you kidding me?' looks. He reckoned she would run before giving him the chance to open his mouth. He would have run too.

"You might be surprised," the Professor murmured and went to press a button on a keypad. Now they could also hear what was being said in the other room.

"Do you think I need a rabies shot?"

"No, but I'll give you a tetanus shot."

Logan snorted softly, hearing the exchange. When the blades had retreated into his fist, they had brought samples of her blood and now his hands itched. Maybe she'd infected him with something. Only, his regenerative powers should have been able to clean it almost instantly. Nope, it still itched. He ran the tips of his fingers over the back of his left hand.

"I can't put you in the healer machine because Kitty's attached to it and she needs it more."

"It's alright. I'll just go to my room." She tried to sit up and groaned. "Arghhh…"

Storm placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her still and, looking over her shoulder, she wiggled a finger at Logan to come to them.

"Go on," the Professor encouraged him.

He was welcomed by a weary look and a slight frown from Storm.

"She needs to go to her room, but if she walks, the wounds will open again," came the explanation.

Logan nodded in understanding and hesitantly moved closer. Was she going to scream? She didn't but, she couldn't fight the impulse to roll her shoulder when he reached to touch her. Fear. Rejection. Both? She was wrapped in bandages like a mummy and her eyes were glazed because of the medication; she looked tired and vulnerable and it was his doing. Managing to ignore the twisting feeling in his gut, Logan slid an arm under her legs as gently as he could and wrapped the other one around her back. A glance at Storm to make sure he was doing it right and he was on his way to her room.

He kicked in the door and lay her on the bed. Then he stopped as if waiting for instructions and looked at her helplessly when she curled into a ball again. The cover was pulled over her. Was he supposed to do anything else? He was afraid to touch her. He should have at least apologized, he realized. Later, when she'd be less mad at him. She had to be mad, he'd hurt her. He'd hurt her so badly.

He retreated quietly and was by the door when he heard her murmur. "The Professor… he could have warned you… if I was wrong…" In spite of the technical difficulties the Professor could have talked to them in their head if there really was an emergency. He hadn't because they had to learn to work together as a team and they had done it rather well. The trust that needed to bind them together was seriously severed though.

Logan's head dropped and he sighed. Women. It didn't matter that she had come so close to being killed, she still needed to have the last word. He left the door open behind him. He was going to be across the hall and would keep an ear open, in case she needed anything. Outside, dawn was coming.


	6. Chapter 6

Both girls struggled not to giggle at the sight of the Wolverine standing in the doorway

Both girls struggled not to giggle at the sight of Wolverine standing in the doorway. His presence there was not what had had caused such a reaction, but the fact that he was holding a tray with breakfast on it and on top of it, there even was a red flower in a glass with water. Logan didn't do such nice things and he sure as hell didn't serve breakfast in bed and, as a result, he felt highly embarrassed and out of place. It had been Storm who'd dropped the tray in his lap, repeating Professor Xavier's words; "He broke her, let him fix her." For some reason, the situation amused Storm terribly, while he just wanted to drop everything and run.

Two pairs of eyes blinked repeatedly, giggles bubbling in their chests and then Rogue cleared her throat and got up from the edge of the bed. "I'm gonna let you eat now. I'll see you later," she murmured. On her way out, she took another look at Logan and hurried to close the door between them. Odd things were happening inside the school these days.

"Umm…" Logan muttered trying to come up with something to say.

Although dressed in a manner that hid all her bandages, she looked pale for lack of sleep and the trauma her body was still fighting, but at least she wasn't in major pain. Storm had been there earlier to change her bandages and give her another dose of painkillers. She felt fairly good at the moment and if she put her mind to it, she could even get up and take a walk. But for now, she lay quietly on the bed with her feet up and watched him, having clearly no intention to help.

"Storm sent you this," he blurted out and moved forward to place it in her lap. It made her wince and grimace, ok so she wasn't that well, and he hurried to grab two pillows and stuff them on the sides to keep the tray elevated.

"Thanks," she mumbled, frowning slightly as he retreated to lean against the window sill. She poked at the food with the fork, but she couldn't make herself eat with him watching her like that.

"I… wanted to apologize…" he started, then stopped when she looked at him. Apologizing wasn't going to heal the wounds or the eventual scars. But it might heal the emotional scars, knowing that he hadn't done it on purpose and he was sorry for it, so very sorry. She would eventually get over the horrible experience of being sliced into pieces, while he never would. He couldn't afford to forget. Cause if he did, there a chance it could happen again and that thought scared him.

"I'm obviously not good at this," he muttered apologizing, "I mean…" he sighed "I'm good at hurting people, killing…" he shrugged, though not quite regretfully, as he was past that phase. "I just want to say… I'm sorry."

There was a moment of silence and then she smirked. "That hurt, didn't it?"

"Damn right it did."

"Good."

She smirked again and shoved a piece of toast in her mouth, feeling her appetite returning. She chewed in silence for a while, moving her arms slowly to avoid straining the injured flesh, and managed to eat part of the food on the tray wondering amused when she'd had breakfast at noon last. "Are you counting how many mouthfuls I take?" she asked ironically, fully aware of his eyes on her.

"Just making sure you eat right," he smirked. Yeah, right, she thought arching an eyebrow. "You'll need your strength. The Professor wants you to be present for Mystique's interrogation."

"Oh?" Now, she really was surprised. "What the hell did you bring her in for? Magneto will be all over us. Her ass is not _that_ nice to risk that," she said remembering how many times he'd glanced at her bare ass when the woman was hanging down his shoulder.

Logan coughed and would have blushed, if his regenerative powers hadn't worked so fast. "Mystique is not working with Magneto this time. He doesn't recognize her as one of his own, now that she's not a 'full time' mutant," he mimed quotation marks with his hands, "anymore."

"Then what was she doing there?"

"That's a good question. We have already discovered that our information might have been wrong and that was not one of Magneto's bases. The rest, with the Professor's help, we are going to find out soon," he replied. "And leave her ass to me. I've kicked it plenty of times," he smirked.

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. Mystique's ass was the last thing she cared about.

"Ready? Can we go?" he asked.

She finished her orange juice and pushed the tray aside with a nod. Logan pulled himself away from the window and came to assist. His hand reached for her arm to support her and she hissed in pain, feeling like he was squeezing too tight, though he actually wasn't, so he hurried to release her, which made her stumble a little until she found her balance.

"OK, I think you've helped enough." She held her hand in the air to keep him at a distance and he took one step back. Whatever he was doing, he seemed to be doing it wrong. She had to fight the impulse to stretch, because she already felt the skin stretching and tearing as some of the wounds reopened. The smell of blood became more acute around her and he frowned. Storm had said Stardust was going to be fine, but she didn't seem to be fine to him. Just look at how pale she was.

"Let's go," she murmured, starting to walk slowly towards the door and, from there, more securely as she became more confident with her actions, realizing that she wasn't going to break into thousands of pieces like her body felt, at times. It didn't stop Logan from going after her and placing a hand lightly on her back, where he knew he hadn't hurt her, making her shoulders tense instantly.


	7. Chapter 7

At first glance there was nothing odd about the scene taking place in that room

At first glance, there was nothing odd about the scene taking place in that room. Four women gathered around a small coffee table and one man standing between two chairs, what could be more normal than that? Well, considering the fact that the man was Logan and the woman with short dark hair and the body of a model was glaring at Logan, holding an icepack to her temple, then one would have to admit that something was indeed strange in all that.

"Go to hell, I'm not telling you anything," Mystique grumbled.

Since she'd become more human than not, she'd developed a great fashion sense she used to control men with the new power she'd discovered, her looks. Logan might have brought her to the mansion butt naked, but she'd been given clothes and now she looked like she'd been posing for the cover of a fashion magazine. No need to say that it made Rogue feel terribly self aware and even Storm felt a little out of place, while Stardust couldn't care less, as she concentrated on not moving too much to prevent any strain to the wounds, although even breathing hurt. Logan, standing so close to her, was almost as annoying as the way he was looking at Mystique.

"You don't have to, the Professor will read your mind like a book," Storm retorted.

"I'm glad you put so much faith in me, my dear." Xavier's voice was heard as he rolled his wheel chair into the room. He could have read her mind from his office, but there was a strong reason behind everything he did, and he had chosen to do it this way. "Hello everyone," he greeted and turned around so he could see them all. They were all his children and he worried for them all. "Mystique." Yes, he even worried for her, or was that because of her?

"Charles."

"It's good to see you. You look lovely." The Professor, a charmer? Who would have thought?

"Look what your dog did to me," she barked back, removing the icepack to show him the big blue bruise on the side of her head.

"Logan, I didn't know you beat women," he smirked. _No, he just slices them_, the answer echoed in his mind coming from you know who.

"I thought she looked better in blue," the big mutant smirked back.

Mystique obviously didn't approve by the look she gave him, although she missed the special powers that came with the blue look. Those present had the decency not to snort aloud.

"Let's not lose our focus here," Xavier chided him softly, not sure he agreed. A pissed off Mystique was more dangerous than ever. "Storm," he invited the white haired woman to start the interrogation.

"So what we know so far, what everyone knows, is that you've been kicked out of Magneto's camp," Storm began. That had happened a while back, when she'd been given the cure. "The question is, what were you doing there inside that facility where we found you? Are you back with Magneto or are you working on your own?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mystique smiled sweetly and poured herself some tea.

"Neither," the Professor answered for her, reading the facts contained in the stubborn, vindictive mind.

Eyes turned to him disconcerted, not understanding what that meant.

"Mystique is not working for Eric, and she is probably never going to do it again." He paused to look at her. Mystique nodded slightly. "She is working for others," he stated and the woman's hand trembled on the cup. "A new group… the fraternity of the mutants cheated by the so called cure…" information was extracted piece by piece from Mystique's mind.

"Pah!" Logan rolled his eyes. What could such an organization want? It had to be another group ready to spread terror among people, especially if Mystique was part of it.

"Don't under estimate us," she warned him. No one did. Any group of mutants, organization, fraternity, brotherhood or whatever they called it, was dangerous. Even the School and the X-men were dangerous, when they wanted to be. Very dangerous.

"Why did you need another organization? Wasn't Magneto bad enough?" Logan grumbled.

"This time is different," she claimed. "We won't take the power by force, we will take it by…"

"Mischief," the Professor interrupted.

"Rhymes with Mystique." Logan deadpanned.

"…legally." Mystique finished.

"God, this starts to look more and more like politics." Stardust feigned a bored sigh and Mystique gave her a thin smile. This was exactly what they were doing, politics in the front and violence in the back, until they achieved their goal.

"What did you need Warren for?" Storm wondered. "He's never been given the cure, he can't technically join your cause… whatever that is."

"His father designed the cure and wanted to give it to him against his will." The Professor echoed Mystique's thoughts, though he didn't need to read her mind since those were things already known. "He's supposed to be some sort of an icon," he murmured. "Wise…"

"Thank you." She smiled boldly at him.

"She's useless, she doesn't know anything more than that." The Professor shook his head, which earned him another glare because it reminded her that, again, she wasn't the first in command… yet. "Politics, you say…" he looked pensively to Stardust. "There's supposed to be a conference in Washington next week, regarding mutants' rights," he remembered. The officials did those regularly, just to keep them quiet. "You might have to pack your bags." He glanced at Storm and Logan and then at Stardust. "But first, I need to talk to Hank," he said and turned around to go to make the call. The cup, thrown by a furious Mystique, exploded into small porcelain pieces as it hit the back of his chair.

The Professor didn't stop, having better things to do than argue with her, but thank God there was Logan to assume that responsibility. "Now that wasn't nice." He shook his head scolding her.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Mystique started to morph into a wako version of Logan just to piss him off.

"That cure really wore you out, if that's all you can do…" Logan mocked her.

"Oh, really?" Eyes narrowed at him. "What about this then?" Fire red hair started to grow out of her scalp flooding down her shoulders, eyes lit up and limbs became slender.

"Jean…" Logan watched her dumbstrucked. This couldn't be. Jean was dead. He'd killed her.

"Mystique, stop it!" Storm exclaimed worried for Logan and what he might do when he came out of that dream like state.

"You're not afraid of me, big boy, are you?" Mystique purred and spread her thighs teasingly. A hint of lacy underwear flashed in front of their eyes. Logan still didn't move, he looked like he'd stopped even breathing, he just stared mesmerized at the creature in front of him.

"Stop it, stop it right now!" Storm advanced towards the woman that now had a very trashy smile on her face. A warning growl made her stop instead. Logan wasn't even aware of it but no one was touching his Jean.

"You want me don't you?" the fake Jean continued to purr. "Good… 'cause I don't want you!" she hissed full of hate. Logan had turned down her advances once, now she was getting even, paying him back with interest.

Logan bristled, though not at her. When he looked down he discovered, almost with surprise that a clear mark of teeth was slowly disappearing from the hand resting on the back of Stardust's chair. "Did it taste good?" he smirked.

She licked her lips and quirked her nose. "Not really."

Taking advantage of Logan's distraction, Rogue grabbed the kettle off the table and threw its content at Mystique. The woman cursed, throwing the warm liquid off her nose and, losing her concentration, began to turn back. Stepping forward, he quieted her for several minutes, his fist turning the other side of her head blue too.

"Someone get this wet bitch out of here!" he called out to some people passing along the corridor.

"Woman beater," Stardust murmured quietly, obviously teasing. She would have done the same if she had had metal fists.

"Damn, it felt good!" he grumbled, shaking his hand, and winked at her.


	8. Chapter 8

The word at School was that Storm was a great flight pilot though why did she needed to know how to fly a jet when she could fly by herself it didn't quite make sense to some

The word at school was that Storm was a great flight pilot, though why did she needed to know how to fly a jet when she could fly by herself it didn't quite make sense to some. Maybe her flying skills were okay for those with a mutant stomach but Stardust, who apparently didn't have one, had sworn to walk all the way back from Washington, rather than fly back with Storm.

The opening conference of the congress had been typical boring stuff and, what was worse, was that it seemed to follow the same trend from there on. By noon it was getting clear that nothing worth mentioning was going to happen during those three days and that it was only a pretext for the politicians to be able to say that the mutants did have their congress and it was only their fault they hadn't been able to organize themselves and establish anything in the end.

"I'm going out for a walk," Stardust announced during one of the breaks, while they were walking on the corridor to stretch their legs.

Storm gave her a displeased look. "The Professor sent us here for a reason…"

"Well, it's either that or falling asleep in my seat in there. Which one do you think would hurt the cause more?" she replied.

"I could use a bite to eat," Logan said. "How about we go grab some food and then return here, to see what else is going on?" he suggested, only to have both women glare at him. That's it, this was the first and only time he would try to break up a fight between them. Let them scratch their eyes out, if that's what they wanted to do; he didn't want to be caught in the middle of it. Although, the brunette had rather nice eyes, even when she frowned.

"Hey, I heard you were going to be here." A thick voice made them turn around and stare at the solid man covered in blue fur.

"Hank!" Storm jumped to hug him.

"Hello, Ororo dear." He hugged her back then nodded at Logan "Logan…"

"Mutt," Logan muttered, clearly not as thrilled to see him as Storm was.

"And who is your friend over here?" Hank ignored the Wolverine's growl.

"Hank, this is Stardust, a former student of our school." Storm made the introduction.

"Ah, yes, I remember you… you once put red ink in my milk at breakfast to see if my fur turned red after I drank it," the bigger man chuckled. Logan's eyes opened wide; he'd just found his hero. For some reason, the Beast was stepping on his nerves.

"You did?" Storm stared at her not sure whether to believe it or not.

"I was twelve," Stardust shrugged having the decency to look embarrassed.

"And so precocious… she called it an experiment," Hank teased her.

"Did it work?" Logan smirked.

"No, but I spent the rest of the day sporting a nice purple shade."

"Not enough ink," Stardust deadpanned, making Hank laugh.

"Well my friends, I see you're on your way out. Let's have lunch and talk about this 'congress'." He rolled his eyes a little.

"Not hungry," Logan muttered. He could go a long time without food, especially if he put his mind to it.

"Yes, let's go." Storm linked her arm through Hank's flashing her eyes at Logan.

"Uh, I forgot my pills at the hotel," Stardust pretended to remember. She carried a bottle with painkillers in her bags but she didn't feel the need for them at the moment, it was just an excuse for Logan to get some time away, if he wanted to.

"I'll go get them for you," Logan offered with a worried look. Was she in pain again? She shouldn't have been. Storm had assured him she was healing nicely and all the wounds had closed by now.

"Thanks."

"We'll be on 54th street at…" Hank started to tell him.

"I'll sniff you out." Logan replied with a smirk.


	9. Chapter 9

Politics seemed to be what Hank was made for when wearing a suit

Politics seemed to be what Hank was made for, when he was wearing a suit. He was good at it, there was a good reason why he was the mutants' representative in the Senate, and he gave the women a run through it, explaining a couple of things while managing not to sound boring or full of shit, like most politicians did.

Logan watched them all from the restaurant entrance, talking animatedly, and wondered what the women saw in that hairy Beast. With a sigh, he went to their table and placed the small bottle by Stardust's elbow muttering, "Here."

Most people would put their medicine in the bathroom or by the bed while unpacking, not that he'd ever used any, but no, she'd left it in her bag and the damn bottle had somehow slipped to the bottom and he'd had to go through all the layers of clothes and underwear to find it. He didn't feel embarrassed for having gone through her things, she'd asked for the painkillers and he'd brought them to her, but it did make him feel intrigued. Silk lingerie? Hmmm.

"We ordered for you too," Storm told Logan. " It should be ready soon."

"Great," he smirked pulling up a chair to sit. He looked around the table, saw everyone had a drink, and lifted his head to call a waitress.

"Oh, there was a beer for you too but she," Storm pointed at the woman sitting at the other side of him, "stole it."

Logan quirked an eyebrow and, taking the bottle in front of her, poured what was left into a glass for himself. "So, did I miss anything?"

"Hank was just informing us about the latest schemes taking place in Washington."

"Magneto involved in any of them?"

"Not that we know of," the Beast answered. "He's keeping a low profile these days. Rumors are that he locked himself in a private clinic, where they're trying to find a cure for the 'cure'," he muttered. "If that works out we'll be back to where we started, though it might shut the New Mutants Unit up. There seems to be thousands of them already and they're popping out everywhere. The problem is that we can't tell if they really had mutant powers once, or if they're just posing as having been tricked into getting the cure and the cure is taking its time to leave their system." He shook his head as the food arrived. "We're sitting on a powder keg here. It's a difficult situation."

"We've got Mystique," Logan asserted.

"And you're detaining her on what authority?" he argued. "I shouldn't be even listening to this if I want not to lose my credibility," Logan rolled his eyes at him, "but I am. What are you going to do with her?"

"Logan wants to keep her as his pet and replace his punching bad with her," Stardust said with a thin smile.

"Beside that." Hank refused to take her seriously or he would have been forced to alert the Abused Mutants Commission.

"The Professor thinks we can use the information she's got," Storm answered.

"If he can get it out of her head." Stardust added skeptically.

"Don't underestimate Charles, my dear, he's more powerful than we think he is."

"I don't doubt that," she mused.

Logan muttered something, busy with his steak. He didn't doubt that either, but he seriously wondered if there was anything else left to find out from the blue bitch. He would have never admitted it up front, but he was beginning to think that it had been a mistake to bring her in. The memory of her turning into Jean was still haunting him.

The Beast ate fast, devouring the meat in a manner that showed a big appetite, and barely hid a burp when he finished and pushed the plate aside. "This was good, You should try the banana split too," he told them and wiped his lips with a napkin. "My friends, you'll have to excuse me now, I have to deliver a speech in half an hour and it won't look good if I'm late."

"Wait, we'll come with you," Storm quickly jumped up getting ready to leave.

"I'd like to try the banana split." Stardust smiled sweetly at them.

"Me too." Logan couldn't believe he'd actually said that.

"Enjoy yourselves, kids, it's on me," the Beast grinned.

"OK, I guess I'll see you at the hotel then." Storm shrugged and linked her arm through Hank's.

There was a short silence around the table until they left and then Stardust smirked at Logan. "You don't really want a banana split, do you?"

"I don't like bananas."

"Because they're a phallic symbol?"

"They give me constipation." The idea of a Wolverine with digestive problems was so funny it made her choke on her drink. "But you can have them if you want."

"Nah, I think I'll have a _mousse au chocolat_."

He seemed to consider it for a moment but it was too sweet for his taste. "I'd rather have another steak."

"Who's stopping you? Hank's paying."

They both grinned.


	10. Chapter 10

"It is time to step forward and take position… now of all times…" fragments of conversation echoed coming from the various people seated in that outdoors café at the corner of the street

"It is time to step forward and take a position… now of all times…" Fragments of conversation echoed from the various people seated in the outdoor café at the corner of the street. Some of them were mutants, some not, and for a small fraction it was really hard to tell one way or the other.

After they had finished lunch, Logan and Stardust had gone for a walk to get the feel of the crowd in the streets. She felt like she was back in school again, skipping classes, only that her partner in crime was not as chatty as the girls she used to do it with. Logan was very quiet, even at the table he'd seemed to be more interested in the food than carrying on a conversation with her, not that she'd gone out of her way to help him.

They were two strangers who probably wouldn't have gotten along too well even in normal circumstances and the fact that now they also had issues with each other didn't help improve their relationship. It wasn't about trust, mainly though, even if they were part of the same team and knowing that the Professor trusted the other one at the end of the day, it was weariness and uneasiness, mostly. They were doing nothing to try to fix it.

"You think Magneto is here?" she whispered quietly enough that only he could hear as she stepped up to a wall to have at least her back covered. There was a large enough number of mutants around for them to worry and there were no guarantees the cure had incapacitated them enough to make them harmless. They were agitated, though only mutters could be heard, as if they were reluctant to express their opinions out loud.

"He wouldn't mingle with the 'broken' ones, ask Mystique," he snorted.

"He is one of them now, that might change his conception."

"He's too stubborn for that. Besides, you heard he's working on correcting that, by getting another cure," he muttered sarcastically.

"It doesn't mean he wouldn't use them," she stated.

Logan rolled his eyes. The woman just didn't want to give up. Even Storm, who could be quite stubborn at times, was more reasonable than her. But he'd learned long ago that it was pointless to argue about it and, in any case, she wasn't scared of him; after he'd come so close to killing her, he suspected she was even less so.

A fainted squeak distracted him. First he thought it was a mouse or a rat roaming in the dumpster nearby. He wanted to discard that detail, one of the many things most people couldn't hear, smell or see, but he recognized a distinct pattern which made him turn and tilt his head, listening attentively. Footsteps. Moving away. Down that alley. Squeak, squeak. He sniffed the air. Cologne. No, perfume. No, something else. Something distinct, something he'd never smelled before. A woman would probably recognize it, but he wasn't too skilled in that area; water and soap were enough for him.

"What?" she hissed, put on guard by the change in his stance.

"Stay here or come with me, but keep quiet." he muttered and went ahead, not waiting for her answer.

"Who made you boss here?" she muttered under her breath, enough for his sensitive ears to hear, but she followed him nevertheless. "Hey, wait for me!" she hissed when he disappeared around a corner.

It was easy to get lost in the labyrinth of narrow, barely lit streets, so she sped up, amazed at how easily Wolverine moved considering how much he weighed. Yes, she knew all there was to know about his metal plated bones; she'd searched the Professor's database looking for information on him, purely for research purposes, of course.

An arm reached out to grab her by the waist and she was pulled in the entrance between two buildings. She recognized the grip so she didn't struggle, just hissed for only a particular set of ears to hear, "Brute," when the cuts on her stomach started to hurt under the pressure. A corner of Wolverine's lips arched up, it was hard to tell if it was a smirk or a grimace, but he relaxed his grip around her when he felt her wince.

Standing motionless in his arms with her back pressed against his chest, she looked out along the dark street, wondering why he had dragged her in there. Two silhouettes could be seen, lingering along the walls. A few moments later, the shorter one limped away and disappeared inside a building, while the other one, wrapped in a long cape and wearing a fedora hat, walked further down the street, the distinct squeak of those boots being picked up by only one pair of ears.

They waited until the shadow reached the corner and quietly went after it. While on the next street they heard the sound of an explosion from behind them and they picked up the pace. They seemed to have lost track at the intersection, but a flutter of the cape's corner caught Logan's agile eyes and he grabbed her hand and dragged her towards a bar with a flashing neon sign, where the mysterious character had gone.

At the beginning of the chase he'd given her a choice, she could either tag along or stay behind, but now she was in it and she had to play on his terms. An arm was draped around her neck as they walked into the bar and went to order a drink at the busy counter. Logan lit up a cigar and, through clouds of smoke, scanned the surroundings. The caped individual was still there, standing by a table, slightly leaned over, talking to two dubious looking men. The hat was covering his face and it was hard to guess the gender; it could either be a slim man or a tall woman. Boots, gloves, long feather attached to the antique hat, everything screamed 'gay' to Logan, and extravagant to his 'date'.

The Hat nodded at the men as if they'd concluded a pact and, with a flourish of his hand, swung his cape, heading towards the restrooms. Several moments passed and The Hat didn't return. Logan suspected he had left through a back exit. He finished his drink, "Hey," she protested when he drank hers too, slammed it back on the bar, dropped some change on it and, apparently leaning heavily on her, guided her steps in the same direction.

Only he didn't go to either of the bathrooms; he identified the exit at the end of the hall and they walked out into the cold, dark night air and a dirty back yard. Out of the corner of his eye Logan saw the cape at a distance and quickly turned the woman around and pressed her against the wall, shielding her with his body. They had to act like a couple out for a quickie if they didn't want to make their audience suspicious and, giving her a pointed look, his head lowered to nestle in the crook of her neck and his hips ground into hers. She gasped at first and froze in his arms but understanding his game her own arms went around him to roam on the back of his leather jacket.

"Damn, I can't see anything," he grunted in her ear.

"Let me help you baby," she said a little louder and, turning him around, she went down on her knees in front of him.

OK, this was new. Logan stared at her more than surprised, not having expecting such a move, especially when the sound of a zipper could be clearly heard in the small yard. She wasn't going to… was she? Of course not. With her hands resting on his hips she rolled her eyes at him, while her head was moving back and forward in a rhythmical motion. He grinned widely pretending to enjoy what she was doing, or wasn't doing, to him and placed his hands on both sides of her head. Her identity would be protected this way.

By the gate, The Hat was talking to a blonde bitch dressed in leather and riding a bike on the street outside the yard. The dialogue went on and on and even Logan, with his acute senses, couldn't hear a word of it. The blonde shook her long tresses a couple of times and then the engine roared to life and she left. The Hat made sure she was really gone before turning around to walk back inside.

The sight of the couple caught up in a passionate moment made him pause and watch with amusement that they couldn't see. Logan let his head fell forward with a loud groan, just to make The Hat go away. A second later, claws popped out. She froze again, terrified to have those weapons so close to her head. If they cut even a lock of her hair, she was going to make sure Logan would wake up without the sideburns one day.

Audience finally gone Logan noticed she looked kinda pale and made his claws retreat. "Are you OK?"

"Was it good for you too?" she put on a brave smile.

"Fabulous," he grinned and helped her get up.

"Did you see or hear anything?"

"No," he answered, fixing his pants.

"Damn. Who was that?" she frowned.

"Don't know," he shrugged.

"And we were following him because…?" for some reason she was convinced it was a man.

"Something felt wrong," he muttered.

"Yeah, he has a lousy fashion stylist," she said ironically.

He rolled his eyes and reached for her arm to lead her back into the bar. The Hat was gone, as were the two men he'd been talking to.

"Do they really come out when… you know…" she asked as they walked towards the exit.

He smirked. "No."

"Show off."


	11. Chapter 11

Like during any congress there were several receptions being held at night and at one even the First Secretary of the State attended along with other important people, foreign ambassadors and the mutants representant, Dr

Like any congress, there were several receptions being held at night and, at one, even the First Secretary of the State attended, along with other important people, foreign ambassadors, and the mutants' representative, Dr. Henry McCoy. Hank had invited Professor Xavier's team, and the girls had nagged Logan for two hours to get him into a suit. The result was worth it though, even if now he was standing stiff as a rod, with both women hanging on his arms and cursing for having let them trick him into this.

"Stop moping," Storm hissed with a smile glued to her face while she nodded gracefully at some armament dealer. "You look great. You should try wearing these heels. Then you'll have the right to complain."

Logan didn't seem too impressed by the size of the heels she showed him through the split of her dress, but her legs sure did look fine to him. He caught Stardust smirking out of the corner of his eye and that made him re-evaluate his position. Sure the tux was uncomfortable as hell, and the bow tie was choking him to death, but - and it was a big but - with Storm with her silvery rebel hair and that dusty golden dress on one side and Stardust with her dark hair falling down in waves on her shoulders and a light blue dress with pale blue and yellow glitters on the other, he had the best looking dates at the party. First one corner of his mouth rose, then the other. Was he smiling? Damn right he was!

"Ladies," his arms slipped around their slim waists, "would you like a drink?" he smirked.

A flirting Logan was something so out of ordinary that the women had to look at him twice before daring to answer. "We would love one," Storm smiled.

"Careful, he'll try to get us drunk and have his way with us," Stardust said ironically as they moved towards a waiter carrying a tray with champagne glasses.

"I didn't have to get you drunk to have you go down on me the other night, did I?" he replied right in front of the waiter whose eyes bulged out.

"You went down on him? Ewww…" Storm made a funny face. Logan wasn't the type of guy to easily talk about such things so she assumed there had to be a joke somewhere. She'd been informed of their little escapade from the previous night but somehow the pretend blow job in the back yard had been skipped.

"What could I do? He couldn't get it up otherwise," she smirked. Logan's arm tightened on her waist. Was that a warning? Her grin got wider. He still had a lot to pay for that sliced salami look he'd gifted her with. "Isn't that so, honey?"

"You two are terrible!" Storm laughed and reached to pick up a glass.

"Close your mouth, son. Your eyes will fall in it," Logan chided the young waiter. He offered a glass to Stardust and got one for himself too. The bubbles tickled his nose, almost making him sneeze, and he only sensed the unusual fragrance when it was already going down his throat. He didn't know much about champagne, it wasn't exactly his favorite drink, but since the girls didn't complain he didn't say anything. He did notice, though, how quickly the waiter took off.

"You made it! My dear girls, you look fantastic!" Hank complimented both women with a charming smile full of teeth. Had he been drinking the same champagne too?

"Thank you," Storm grinned. "We had to show the world that we are just as good as regular people. Nice suit."

"They were out of blue suits?" Stardust teased. He wore a purple one, for a change.

"No, but I couldn't find any purple ink. With all the computers and electronic devices, people hardly ever write by hand these days," he replied in good humor. "May I steal you away for a dance, my dear?" he turned to Storm

"I would love that." She offered him her hand and they moved away, chatting about the last amendment made to the constitution regarding mutants.

"So I guess this leaves only the two of us," Logan muttered, looking at the brunette who was finishing her drink. "Wanna dance?" he asked, half convinced he was going to be refused.

She gave him a long look before answering, loving the feeling of having him at her mercy, and then put her glass down and reached for his hand. "What the hell, I've already given you a blow job, a dance is not such a big sacrifice," she claimed.

He snorted at her remark but his smile faded when she settled in his arms among other dancing couples. Her arms went around his neck, it was a slow dance, and as he avoided her gaze, his eyes trailed over the small cleavage, low cut back, and the lace covering her arms. She'd had to take off the protective bandages to fit into the dress and, under the delicate lace, he could see the scars he'd put there.

He made the mistake of looking into her eyes and something strange happened. His blood started to burn. Literally. Thousands of fire ants were running through his veins starting from the point where his palm was touching the soft skin of her back. He was becoming slightly dizzy. His head bent forward and he hummed softly in her ear, "if I can't have you I've got nothing," in time to the music.

This was odd behavior for Logan, she would have never taken him for a romantic, and she smiled, amused. Only when his arms wrapped tightly around her and his lips touched her neck did she realize something was wrong with him. This was not the place to display his feelings for her, if he had any.

"Logan," she murmured, running a hand along the back of his head. She felt him shiver. "Logan, what's wrong?" she insisted, really worried now.

"Burns…" he mumbled and, when she turned his head, his eyes were glazed and a thin layer of perspiration was covering his forehead.

"Come with me," she whispered and guided his steps to a door leading to the terrace. He followed, not knowing where he was going, but trusting her to make it better. He was shaking all over in the night breeze.

"Logan, what is it? Are you sick?" Stupid question, Wolverine didn't get sick. She touched his forehead. Burning, just like he'd said. He leaned his head against her cooling hand and closed his eyes with a groan. His fists were clenching spasmodically, as if preparing for a fight.

"I'm gonna get you some water."

"No!" He stopped her. "The champagne… they put something in the champagne," he said with a lot of effort. His ears were ringing. "Don't go… please… stay with me…" he asked, against his better judgment. He was dangerous when he lost control but he was already past that phase.

He grabbed her and, holding her tight, buried his face in her hair. His breath was coming out in heavy pants as he struggled not to lose contact with reality. He didn't remember being drugged before and he feared that if that happened, he wasn't going to come back. He didn't want to die.

"Sst… I'm here, I'm not going anywhere…" she murmured soothingly. She felt his fear and embraced him, holding him in her arms while he was squeezing the life out of her.

His heart was beating so loudly he was convinced he was going to have a heart attack. His teeth clenched to stifle a roar of pain and rage as his body fought against the drug he had been intoxicated with and won the battle in the end. His vision was beginning to clear.

But she was getting lightheaded. "Logan…" she used a last breath of air to call his name.

He looked down at her feeling her limp in his arms and immediately released her. "Shit."

She stumbled and gasped for air but didn't fall. Even if she'd had, he couldn't have helped her, he'd turned his back on her and he was clutching the rail so hard his fists had bent the metal.

So it was her who came to him. "Don't fall over…" she murmured resting a hand lightly on his tensed back.

"One of these days I'll kill you." He frowned into the darkness but didn't pull away. Right now he needed her support more than anything else.

"I'd rather have you save me. You owe me," she added with a little smile.

He turned to look at her and his lips barely curled up in a smile. He wanted to say something, but then stopped. Damn, his ears were ringing again. No, it was the phone in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered without checking the caller ID. "Logan," he grunted and listened attentively to what the person at the other end of the line was telling him.

"Looks like I'm gonna pay my debt to you sooner than expected. Something happened in New Haven and we have to go there right away. There's no time to fly back and assemble the team so you'll have to come with us," he told Stardust.

She wondered if the three of them were going to be enough for whatever they had to do, but nodded anyway. If the Professor said they had to go, they would go. He wouldn't send them to sure death, not until a new team was formed. Err, and apparently they couldn't count on Storm, either. When they reach the door to return to the reception room and look for her, they saw her dancing happily with Hank in a manner that showed that she was either drunk or on the way of getting there. Not drunk, drugged, Stardust corrected herself.

"Oh, crap, she's in no condition to fly the jet," she muttered.

"I can fly it," Logan replied.

"Then we'll need Hank with us. He's worked with you before." She remembered having read it in one of the mission files.

Logan nodded. In Storm's absence he was supposed to be the next in command, but he didn't mind listening to good advice. "Let's get her out of here," he grunted.

"Storm, wanna go to the ladies room with me?"

"Nooo, I wanna dance with Hank."

"He's coming too."

"To the ladies room?" Storm giggled.

"If I have to," Hank sighed, catching the others' eyes and understanding that something was going on.

"Cool, we're going to dance in the bathroom!" She was interrupted by a hiccup.

"Yes, Logan is gonna teach you some new moves," Stardust told her.

"Him?" She gave the tall mutant an estimating look. "I don't think so," she shook her head in all seriousness.

"You haven't seen him dance yet," Stardust whispered secretively and, between her and the two men, they managed to carry her out.


	12. Chapter 12

It turned out that Logan could indeed fly a jet

It turned out that Logan could indeed fly a jet. Keeping Storm in her seat with the seatbelt on was a lot more difficult. At the moment, she was concentrating on making pink snow flakes fall from the sky. So far, she could only make them orange.

The others had changed into their rubber suits during the flight and now they were preparing for a rough landing. The objective was west of New Haven and the instructions weren't clear; all they knew was that they had to get in and out. Why, though, that was still a mystery.

"What are we going to do with her?" Hank murmured gesturing towards Storm. "Lock her in?"

"She knows this jet better than anyone. She'd find a way out," Logan replied.

"We can't take her with us." Storm was drawing pretty ice flowers on the windows. It was mid summer.

"Storm… hey, Storm!" Stardust called her name again to get her attention.

"Mmmm… yeah?" a happy drug induced smile turned to her.

"You'll have to stay here."

"But I wanna heeelp," came the whining in a child-like voice.

"Good, 'cause we really need your help," Stardust said seriously. "You need to guard the jet, it's our only way out and you're the best at long distance fight. You have the best chance to keep it in one piece and ready to take off as soon as we get back. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I can do that…" Storm beamed and nodded a bit too fast, enough to get dizzy.

"We won't get more than this from her." She looked up at the men. "Hopefully she'll stay in… we should go while she's still calm…"

Guns were charged and the trio went ahead, leaving Storm behind. They had scanned the area while approaching, but no heat signatures, mutant or not, had been read by the scanners. The construction they were aiming for seemed to be empty and whatever they were supposed to get or do inside they would only find out upon entering, since all attempts to contact the Professor had failed. Something was going on at the mansion and they were on their own.

If they hadn't smelled something fishy already, the unlocked doors at the entrance should have at least raised suspicions. The structure was made of steel and concrete, with long corridors and rooms on both sides. The more they advanced inside, the more one conclusion became clear.

"There's no one here. This place is abandoned." The Beast commented.

"Let's look for the command center; this place is built like a fortress, there has to be one," Logan said. "We could try to contact the Professor from there, if everything is still working."

"There is a room at left center." Stardust remembered the 3D readings from the monitors. "That could be it."

"We should find it then," Logan nodded.

More careful advancement, though on a faster pace, since no one got in their way, and they soon reached the command center. All the computers and monitors were turned off. The base had been closed.

"Why would Charles send his team to an empty place like this?" the Beast wondered out loud.

Click.

"Don't touch anything," Logan warned. He didn't want any warning signal to be triggered by mistake.

Click.

"Maybe it wasn't empty," he reasoned, "and he'd hoped we were gonna make it on time?"

Click.

"There is no dust." Stardust ran her fingers over a desk.

Click.

"A place of this size takes a while to evacuate…" Logan stated.

Click.

"And the Professor always knows," she added.

Click.

"What if the place has been emptied especially for us…" Logan launched another hypothesis.

Click.

"…and it wasn't the Professor calling," she finished his thought.

Click.

They looked at each other, trying to decide if that could be the truth.

Click.

And then Logan whispered, "We are being watched." A small camera was blinking in a corner.

Riiiiing!

"It's a trap. Run!"

The Beast went ahead, followed closely by Logan, while Stardust remained a couple of steps back, not being as fast as they were. Mechanical noises could be heard as metallic doors fell, closing access ways, and they had to change course several times to avoid them and avoid being separated, which eventually happened, anyway.

"Hurry!"

The exit was only meters away when three doors emerged from the ceiling, falling fast. One was at mid distance between The Beast and Logan and the other two, very close to each other, threatened to fall between Logan and Stardust. She thought she would have had time to roll and pass underneath one of them, but she would have never made it through the second one. Both she and Logan watched, helpless, as the doors became one with the floor, sealing off contact between them. She turned and ran back. There had to be another way, there just had to be one.

The Beast stopped, not knowing what to do. He wanted to go find the girl, but a safety door was just starting to close the entrance.

"Go on, get out!" Logan yelled at him. "I'm going after her, see if you can guide me from outside." They couldn't count on Storm yet, they could still hear her giggling and singing in their ear pieces.

The Beast nodded, leaped forward and disappeared into the opening about to close. Logan didn't wait, he went to test the other door's resistance. It was thick and plated with metal. It would have taken him hours to get through it and there was another one on the other side. He didn't have the time nor the patience to do that. The corridor's walls were plated with metal too, but the walls separating the rooms perhaps weren't. He found one with the door still open and walked inside. Uh-huh, concrete, he could deal with concrete.

Claws popped out and he started to tear down the walls, one after the other, moving on a path parallel with the main corridor in search of another open door. For a while, all that could be heard were grunts and sounds of claws hitting concrete. Contact with the jet had been lost the moment the front door had been sealed.


	13. Chapter 13

Storm might have been drugged and partially incapacitated but she wasn't going to just stand still and wait while her friends needed help

Storm might have been drugged and partially incapacitated, but she wasn't going to just stand still and wait while her friends needed help. When she saw Hank running out of the building and the door automatically closing behind him, trapping the others inside, she knew she had to do something. A mass of dark clouds gathered above the canyon in a matter of seconds and lightning struck the building, trying to make an opening.

Unfortunately she was far from feeling right and couldn't control her powers. One bolt of lightning hit the canyon wall, dislodging big rocks and, as they fell, one of them hit Hank, who was running towards the jet, and knocked him out.

With walls so thick and sealed so well, there was no way for those trapped inside to know about the terrible storm outside. Stardust had walked along the corridors for a while until it had become pretty clear that she wasn't going to find her way out by herself. Knowing that either her friends or those who'd tricked them into getting there were going to come after her, and that it might take some time until either would happen, she settled into finding a reasonable place to stay.

Not far from the command center, which was now sealed, there was a large room with a couple of beds, a bit of a kitchen on one side, and a small, adjacent bathroom. The fridge was empty, but there was running water at the sink. Basic needs being taken care of, she decided to settle there. She sat on the bed facing the door, propped her elbows on her knees and waited.

It didn't take long until claws pierced through the wall behind her and Logan showed up in a cloud of dust. He was covered in sweat mixed with concrete dust and his fists were dripping blood.

"I knew you would come." She raised her head and gave him a hint of a smile.

"And you just waited here?" he said, part teasing, part scolding, and walked out the door into the main corridor.

"There is no…" she called after him but then shut up. He wasn't going to listen anyway.

"There is no way out," he announced a bit later when he returned.

What was she saying?

"Where are the others?" she asked getting up.

"Hank made it out. Hopefully he went to ask for help."

"Oh." So they were still trapped. She sat back on the bed. "You should see to those."

He looked down at his fists, the claws had long retreated, and went to run them through the water in the sink. There was no danger of infection but he didn't like to have his hands dirty. He also washed his face and ran his hands through his hair.

"Are you alright?"

He gave her a surprised look. He wasn't used to be asked that sort of question. Those who were aware of his regenerative powers knew he was going to be alright and the others didn't care. "It was just a bunch of walls…" he shrugged.

"No, I meant from before..."

He twisted his neck until he heard it pop and nodded. "Yeah, the effect wore off." He wondered if it was the same case with Storm. Probably not. She didn't have his genes and she'd been pretty messed up. "It didn't affect you…" Was that an accusation or an observation?

"No," she shook her head.

"Any idea why?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't believe it." she smirked.

"Try me."

She made a pause before answering. "It only works on mutants."

His eyes narrowed at her. "You're a little too old to still be in denial."

She chuckled at the way he'd made it sound. "You can't deny something that doesn't exist."

She had a point there. But still… "The Professor doesn't seem to agree with you."

"The Professor has his own reasons to…"

"He might not tell us everything but he doesn't lie," Logan interrupted.

"Do you trust him?"

He thought about it. He didn't trust many people in this world, but he did trust the Professor. "Yes. Don't you?"

"He's one of the most powerful mutants in the world…" she mused, whatever that meant. He'd never hurt her, protected her some, though she would debate that, but she couldn't help wonder what plans he had for her. "I don't know," she sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Is it just me or is it getting warmer in here?" she looked up at him.

Logan could feel the entire building vibrate as if being under siege. He hoped it was because the jet's blasters were being used to perforate the exterior walls. Any other reason was too dark to consider. "It's not just you," he told her and unzipped the top of his suit. The temperature inside the room was increasing progressively and the rubber suit wasn't helping.

She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand but she didn't feel any better. "Isn't it odd that, although the place is empty, all the facilities are working except for the control center?" They had electricity, water, and, until minutes ago, even the acclimatization had been working.

"We were sent here to be caught, not killed obviously."

"By whom? Who sent us?" she wondered. "Do you think it was Mystique?" She could have somehow escaped the constant guarding and pulled it off.

"I don't know. Anyone could have faked the Professor's voice given the right equipment," he muttered. If the voice hadn't put him on alert, the vague message should have made him suspect something, but he hadn't, as he hadn't been quite himself at the moment. This had been his mistake. His head lowered and he went to sit on the other bed.

Neither of them felt like chatting and the next few minutes were spent in silence, while the temperature was getting even warmer. Finally she gave up and unzipped her suit too. Logan watched with a raised eyebrow as she pulled her arms out of the sleeves and let the suit drop around her waist. Then, she methodically started to remove the bandages covering her arms and torso. In that heat, the sweat gathered underneath those wrappings was making her skin itch. First the left arm was unveiled to the artificial light, the right one was next, and then she lifted the lower part of her cotton short sleeves top and removed the bandages around her torso. A hand sneaked up underneath the top and she grimaced when she pulled on the larger patch stuck to her chest with adhesive. Ah, she felt much better now and sighed with relief.

Logan's eyes trailed along her bare arms in his attempt not to stare openly at her chest, he was just a man after all, and his fine sight investigated her scars, estimating their state, the new ones as well as the old. Dark red lines in sets of three, left by his claws; some of them were going to disappear in time while other would turn white, remaining to testify for his crime, but underneath that web like net of fresh scars, there were also barely visible old ones.

"Stop staring like that," she said without looking at him. "They don't hurt," almost, "and I've stopped taking the painkillers." That was true.

"What happened? How did you get those?" he wanted to know.

"Medals of honor from Xavier's school," she said sarcastically.

"The kids did that?" Logan frowned. "And no one stopped them? The Professor?"

"He could have… but he never interfered. He had more important things to do." Like training his favorite student, Jean Grey.

She often wondered if it hadn't been a test, to see how far she could be pushed and have her mutation react. High levels of emotional stress usually triggered mutations to kick in, but it hadn't happened in her case. If it had been an experiment, then it had failed and the Professor still wasn't right. There was no mutation.

Logan was beginning to understand why she tended not to trust the Professor. Such a trauma on a young child would have made anyone reluctant to trust him. The question was, how much? What he didn't understand was that she didn't resent him. OK, she did, a little, less now that she'd grown up and spent some time watching everything from the outside. She had a different understanding now of the big picture. But, she still wanted out. Not really feeling that she belonged, she wanted out.

The bandages were dropped by the bed and she put the suit back on and zipped it up. It seemed to be less hot, now.


	14. Chapter 14

Hank moved his head and groaned

Hank moved his head and groaned. Something heavy was pinning him to the ground. Then the lightning struck a few feet away from him and that sure woke him up. He was in the middle of a terrible storm, no rain just strong wind and an unusual amount of electrical discharges, the majority aimed at the building behind him.

Huffing and puffing he managed to roll off the rock that had landed on top of him and half running half limping he hurried to get to the jet. "Ororo, stop it!"

"Hank, you're up!" she beamed. "I'm trying to get them out but it won't open," she complained.

"Stop it! The entire building is wrapped in metal. You're going to bake them!"

"What? Oops," she made a face. "Well, how was I supposed to know? You made me stay here," she grumbled, making the storm stop. Heavy rain poured from the sky and the temperature dropped 20 degrees below 0, turning the canyon into an immense ice rink. Fluffy snow flakes continued to fall for a long time after Storm passed out from exhaustion for having used her powers for so long in her condition, and the entire area was covered with a ten foot layer of snow.

"Oh, brother," the Beast mumbled.

In their cozy room, Stardust and Logan were starting to feel the change too.

"Great, first they're boiling us and now they're freezing us," she muttered and, seeing that he wasn't saying anything, preoccupied by the silence he was picking from outside, she went to the sink and turned the faucets. "And no hot water either," she said laconically.

"Better get used to it, it's gonna take a while," he commented from where he was resting, his back propped against the wall and his feet up on the bed. "I think they left to bring reinforcements."

"How can you know that? Does your ear piece still work?" She watched him suspiciously. "Mine died long ago." Hearing Storm sing right now would have been more than refreshing.

"No, but it got all quiet outside."

"Ah." She looked around for something to put on that might help keep her warm but, although there were sheets on the beds, there were no blankets. And the temperature kept dropping.

"You're cold."

"That was a rhetorical question, right?" she pouted and wrapped her arms around her.

He almost smiled. This was going to be tough. "Come here…"

"No." She shook her head stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, "but we are the only source of heat in this whole fucking building." She would come to him when she got _really_ cold.

For now she just glared. Sure, it was tempting to lay by his side, but she wasn't that cold, yet. Five minutes later she was shivering already.

"The offer is still open," he rumbled. He really hated seeing her like that.

She opened her mouth to argue but then changed her mind. "Ha, you're cold too, admit it!" she exclaimed victoriously.

"Of course I'm cold. What did you expect?" he chuckled. He was no Superman, he suffered from the weather just like everyone else. The only difference was that he wasn't going to die from hypothermia as fast as she would.

"Good," she muttered.

Silence.

"Are you always so grumpy when you're cold?"

"Yep. Brace yourself, it's going to get worse," she smirked.

"Come here." His arms opened. "Don't make me come to you," he warned, but his voice was low and teasing.

"Why? What would you do?" she challenged him.

"Nothing, but I've warmed up this bed already," he smirked.

She actually laughed. "You won't try anything funny?" She wanted to make sure and he slowly shook his head arms still open.

She crossed the distance between them and tentatively sat on the edge of his bed. Seeing that he didn't move she shuffled closer and snuggled by his side. Only then did he wrap his arms around her, pulling her against his large frame.

"Better?" he rumbled into her hair.

"Uh-huh" the woman sighed.

It stayed that way for a whole ten minutes. Until…

"I'm still cold," she announced as if it was his fault.

"Well, there's just one other thing left to do…" he started. He was convinced she was going to slap him but he couldn't stop himself.

"What?" she turned her head to look at him. The twinkle in his eyes gave her the answer. "No you won't," she deadpanned and put her head back down on his shoulder.

But now the idea had been planted in her head and it made her feel very conscious of the way his body felt against hers, his masculine scent and the way he was holding her.

"Damn you," she grumbled annoyed, and extracted herself from his arms. "Need to use the bathroom." She mumbled an excuse and disappeared in the small adjacent room, closing the door after her.

Logan stared at the closed door for a long moment. He had only been joking earlier, but now he started to frown. How long could she resist with that low temperature? He didn't want her to get sick. Or worse. She needed to be in top form in order to get out of there. Whenever that was going to happen.

"My butt froze on the toilet seat," she complained when she returned, much later than a normal visit to the bathroom should have taken.

He watched her walk, agitated, around the room, trying to warm herself up, most likely, and he moved his long legs off the bed and walked to her. He reached for her hands and caught them in his. Hers were so cold, and her lips were turning blue. "Stop… just stop," he murmured.

Her eyes looked up into his as he was towering over her and her lips trembled.

"I'm not scaring you, am I?" he asked softly.

"No…" her voice was a faint whisper.

A smile made his lips curl up and the heat that radiated from that smile made her shiver in a different way. He lifted one hand and let his index finger trail down her cold cheek. His large palm cupped the side of her face and moved to the back of her head to keep her steady as his own head lowered, his lips covering hers. It was a gentle but firm kiss, meant to explore her mouth and get acquainted with its velvet texture, not demanding, not invading, but each time taking a little more, a kiss that got her knees weak.

A small sigh filled her chest when he released her mouth and her eyes burned into his. By this time his were burning too, only he was much more in control of the situation than she was. It was showed by the way his hand gently but firmly reached for the zipper to pull it down and unzip her suit.

"Do we have to get undressed too?" she whined chuckling but didn't oppose any resistance.

"Body heat is best recommended in such cases," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes though blushed a little. "Uh… okay… but I gotta tell you something…" she mumbled. "I'm quite new at this…"

Logan felt his jaw drop. She was pulling his leg, right? She couldn't be saying what he thought she was saying, not with the way she looked…

"Not to sex, duh!" she laughed at the sight of the face he made. "I just haven't been with a mutant before," she muttered a little embarrassed.

"How come?" he wondered, his finger trailing along the opening made in the suit.

"Silly superstition… I feared that being with a mutant might trigger my own mutation." She blushed and lowered her eyes. It really sounded silly said out loud.

"And you don't want it." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. He'd picked up that much from all she'd said about herself and her non-existent mutation. His hands moved on her shoulders and pulled the suit down her arms then he put a crooked finger under her chin up to make her look at him. "What if you were right?"

"Then I hope it's something really cool so I can kick your arse for these." She nodded down at her arms.

His hands ran along those arms, caressing the soft skin. "I should be careful then," he smirked. His hands fisted in her hair and the next kiss was less gentle and more possessive that the first one. That kiss started it all, there was no stopping from there.

Hours later, when she woke up, the temperature had gone back to normal. She was laying on her stomach, covered with a thin sheet, her head resting on a bent arm. Beside her, Logan had his back propped against the wall, she could feel his warm presence through the sheet in the narrow bed, though something felt different now from the last moments before falling asleep, even if she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

He felt the change in her breathing pattern and cringed. Here we go, she was waking up. So it hadn't been a matter of life and death like it had seemed in the beginning, but they were adults and they had both enjoyed it. Actually that was an understatement, the couple of hours spent making love as they had continued even after the heat between them had become almost too much to take had been wonderful. His arousal hadn't dropped during that entire period, although he'd climaxed multiple times, bringing her repeated orgasms and he'd gone at it again and again in a frenzy as if his life and not hers depended on it.

He hadn't been interested in a woman since Jean, her death had left him with a painful cavity in his chest, filled only with guilt, and now this small girl was threatening to barrel her way through his protective shield and get to his long lost heart. It had nothing to do with the fact that they had just had sex. But every smile or sarcastic remark from the sharp brunette made another crack in his defense, and that confused him, and scared him. He wasn't ready to risk being hurt again and most of all, he didn't want to hurt her.

Well, all his worries and concerns would be proven in vain once she opened her eyes, he thought. His eyes looked mournfully at the body whose shape he could guess under the sheet. It wasn't like he was ever going to see it naked again, not after this. She'd nearly forgiven him for the attack, but this was a completely different story; she'd made her point very clear regarding the mutations. Sighing internally, he prepared for her screams.

Dark eyes opened and the first thing she saw was her arm. It took her a moment to realize what was wrong. There were no scars. She rolled on her back and lifted her arms up to inspect them. No marks. Not only that the recent scars were gone but the old ones too. "What have you done to me?" she gasped.

"Nothing…" he mumbled.

The sheet was lifted to check the rest of her body. As far as she could see underneath the skin was clear like the day she had been born. She glanced up and seeing that he was peeking under too she let the sheet drop and let her arms rest on top of it over her chest.

"Wow…"

That was all she had to say? At least she hadn't tried to thump him yet.

"I know I said something cool but I hadn't thought of anything like that… this is far better than any plastic surgeon promised me," she sounded almost excited.

"Plastic surgeon?" he frowned.

"Yeah, I consulted several a while ago and I was supposed to have all the scars removed once I got my doctorate degree. Looks like I won't be needing that anymore," she grinned.

He needed a second to grasp the idea. "So you're not mad?"

She got up and turned to him holding the sheet to her chest. "No, I'm not. I don't know what this is, what you did to me, but I'll take it as a gift. Thank you." She smiled and leaning forward she pressed her lips over his.

"I'm sure the Professor will be able to explain it," he mumbled still dizzy from the kiss.

"Hmm… yeah… The Professor… right…" she muttered. "Umm… you know, he wasn't there then and he isn't here now… let's keep this between us for now, OK?" she asked him and added, smirking, "Remember you owe me."

"Will I always owe you?" he asked rhetorically feigning a sigh.

He knew the answer before actually hearing it, "Yep," and he smiled amused, thinking that he didn't mind. His head moved forward to catch her lips, but his ears picked up a distant muffled noise and he stopped in mid way.

"Get dressed, we've got company."

Finding the place where the noise seemed to be coming from, Logan managed, with the aid of his claws, to remove a square portion of the floor, large enough for a man, or woman, to pass through. The concrete layer underneath was harder to crack but, once he did, it didn't take long for the Beast's hairy head to emerge from the hole in the ground.

"I hope no one's claustrophobic…"


	15. Chapter 15

An interesting conversation took place over the phone soon after the mutants' escape from the military base if anyone cared to listen

An interesting conversation took place over the phone, soon after the mutants' escape from the military base, if anyone cared to listen.

"I'm listening. How did our little plan work?"

"Perfect as expected, sir. They fell into the trap right away. We'll have to adjust the concentration of the mixes better next time thought and make sure they don't get to the wrong subject."

"And you will see to that, I'm sure. Now did you get the readings?"

"Yeees…"

"And?"

"Those for the Beast and Wolverine showed nothing that we didn't know already."

"And the other one…?"

"The other one showed nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Clear as rain. There was a small interference for a while but then it disappeared. Nothing."

"That can't be… What is Charles thinking he's doing with her there, then?"

"Well, sir… there can always be the Element Zero theory that we talked about."

"We're not playing Tic Tac Toe here. There is no Element Zero. That's a fantasy. A myth."

"Then, sir, your guess is just as good as mine…"

"Hmmm… send me those reading, I want to see them with my own eyes."

"Yes, sir."

Magneto put the phone down and smiled wearily when the cute nurse in charge of his rehabilitation chided him, "You are not focusing, Eric. You have to try harder." She picked the metallic ball from the floor and gave it back to him. He'd dropped it half way before reaching the table placed by the window.

It was a bright, sunny day outside, but he stayed in, exercising his powers. Once he'd been one of the most powerful mutant on earth; he was going to be that again, not as strong as he used to be, but enough to achieve his goal. Soon.

What was Charles doing? The ball dropped again.


	16. Chapter 16

There was truce for a while

There was truce for a while. No more growls and glares. Storm had actually accused them of being boring, but the Professor enjoyed the quiet time and the fact that his team was finally getting along. He could focus on his young students more without having to worry about them too. Beside their fight against the evil mutants and other forces, he had a school to run.

"I liked today's math class. I can't believe I actually understood those functions," Rogue said as she approached the desk to turn in her homework at the end of the class.

Stardust smiled. "I'm glad you did. I can recommend you some material to read on the subject."

"Nah, I think that's enough for me." Rogue nodded at the heavy book she was carrying under her arm.

"Yeah, I think it is too." The woman smirked, taking no offence and watched the students leave then locked their papers in a drawer.

While Xavier was teaching them about morals, equality, freedom and other stuff meant to build them a conscience, she was teaching basic math and physics. These kids, in order to graduate and get good jobs eventually, had to pass exams like in any regular school. You should have seen Storm teaching them literature and arts, or Logan with chemistry and communication. Really fun.

During lunch break, she stopped by the kitchen to fetch a sandwich and stepped outside. The day was too beautiful to stay in. She stretched in the sun, chewing on the last bite of the sandwich, and sighed, eyes wandering around, looking for something to do. The breeze was making the vegetation undulate over the pasture, bees buzzing in their travel from one wild flower to another. A peaceful day.

She heard the French doors open and turned to see Logan walk out on the small balcony.

"Class over?" she smirked. He looked a little out of breath.

"They're killing me," he complained in jest.

"It means they're getting better," she replied. They were. The Professor was proud of them and so were Logan and Storm. She didn't care that much, since she didn't train with them, but probably she should have, because in a dangerous situation she was depending on their stronger defense, too.

"Yeah," he grunted and looked far ahead at the distant forest. Everything seemed to be calm.

"OK, since you're too tired for a walk…" she shrugged with a chuckle and started to walk away from the mansion, hands resting in her pants' pockets. She didn't have classes until four o'clock and she didn't have to report what she was doing in her spare time.

Logan watched her as she stopped to pick up some flowers on the way. She was safe as long as she was staying on the Academy's grounds, he'd checked the security himself and there had been no attempt to breech it all the while he'd been there, except for her when he'd caught her sneaking in that night. He wouldn't pass on the challenge thrown by her though and, though he was never tired, not really, he could use a break. He jumped easily over the small fence and followed her.

"They look good together, don't they?" Bobby commented from upstairs.

"Who?" Rogue asked distracted and he pointed out the window where their instructors were having a stroll. "Oh, them… yeah, I suppose…" she shrugged more interested in the way his arm was wrapped around her shoulders than the two adults outside.

There was some small talk made as they approached the forest, leaving the mansion somewhere behind, though still visible. No serious subject was discussed, they were sick of talking about mutants, and the one matter that might have counted was not easy to approach.

She didn't enter the forest, but stopped just by the beginning of it and lowered herself down on the grass with her back resting against a tree. Reaching inside a pocket, she pulled out a red, shiny apple and bit into it, then she looked up, "Want one?" and produced another that she threw in his direction. "Show off," she muttered when he caught it in his claws and made a big show of slicing it with them before sitting down not far from her.

He just rolled his eyes, he was used with her calling him that. Students chuckling around corners knowing about his new nickname were harder to ignore, but he was trying. Really hard. For now, he was watching distracted the flowers she'd discarded on the grass next to her. That's not to say down right that he was staring at her legs, while his ears were picking out the chirping of the birds in the forest. They seemed to be more agitated than usual, maybe it was going to rain.

"The Professor said…"

"Do we have to talk about him?" she whined knowing damn well that Logan wasn't going to drop the subject, if he had something to say, he was like a dog with a bone. The association made her chuckle around the stem of the apple.

"…there'll be a commission coming over next week to assist to our classes," he finished undisturbed.

"I'm teaching them about fractals," she shrugged, "not gonna change that just to entertain some boring authorities."

She must really like to argue, the mutant thought. For someone grumpy by nature, it was very disconcerting to have to deal with someone like her. Sometimes it irked him so bad he wanted to gag her, but not today. The sun was shining, warming up his cold, plated bones and he felt too lazy to move. Besides, scratch marks left by human nails were terribly itchy while they healed. "I was only informing you."

"And I was telling you what my plans are," she replied in the same tone. "If he wants a real teacher, he should go get one." That was a bit of a stretch, she was just as qualified as any of them in that department, if not even more. She'd taught classes at the university while working on getting her doctorate degree, which she would have had by now if she hadn't had to leave in a hurry in the beginning of the summer.

If Xavier followed her recommendation, there would be no reason for her to be there, other than hiding, and they both knew that. Since she was hiding though, would it be wise for her to be seen by those people? She didn't seem to be worried by that, so Logan would have to discuss it with the Professor himself, just to be on the safe side. He reckoned there was going to be quite a turmoil if anyone dared to tell her to let someone else teach her classes during the inspection. If he knew what Logan had done to her during their imprisonment, though, Charles would have been furiously mad but, since no further reaction had been noticed regarding her possible mutation, he could hope he would never have to find out about it.

Change of subject.

"Storm suggested we should go to the pub tonight… to have a drink and relax. Wanna come?"

Dark eyes narrowed at him and she said teasingly, "Are you hoping for another blow job?"

"I wouldn't dare," Logan deadpanned. "Everyone knows you're a big tease and wouldn't go all the way…"

"Me? A tease?!" she gave him a scandalized look and for a moment she wondered whether he was serious or not.

"…but I know better," he added with a little smile.

Hearing those words she relaxed a little and lowered her head. The memory of those passionate hours that they had shared was still making her blush. He somehow knew, cause she felt a large hand resting on her shoulder his thumb caressing the skin of her upper arm. Soft tendrils of dark hair brushed against his wrist as she bent her head to press her cheek against the back of his hand. Tenderness. He didn't deal with that, well, either, but he was learning.

With all the students attending the Academy, intimacy was a luxury they didn't have. So, when his arm slid around her to encourage her to come closer, she didn't hesitate but moved by his side and leaned against him, resting in his embrace. It wasn't even about sex, though the incentive was surely there, it was more about closeness, feeling that there was someone who, in spite of all the differences, cared about you and understood you, more or less.

Arms wrapped around his torso and legs entwined with his as they sat on the grass. She didn't move for a long time, didn't talk, just listened to his even breathing and heartbeats. She smiled when his lips placed a kiss on her forehead and then glided down along her face in a lazy search for her mouth. His low growl got lost inside the warm, welcoming cavern. Everything was alright in the world for a change.

Shame it didn't last long. Only seconds later - or were those minutes? - Logan cocked his head and looked around to find the source of the faint noise that was buzzing in his ears. She couldn't hear it yet, but she felt in the way his body tensed that something was going on.

"What is it?" she asked in a whisper.

"Ssst…" Logan pressed a finger to his lips and motioned for both of them to get up from the ground. They were far from the mansion; he assessed the situation in a hurry, whatever was happening, they couldn't count on help coming in time and, while he was practically indestructible, he knew he couldn't guarantee her safety, not from several attackers. "You better…"

He didn't get to finish the phrase. The ground started to vibrate under their feet, making them jump aside, and two vehicles with big propellers in front pierced the surface, coming half way out before stopping. Armed people wearing goggles and masks jumped out once the top was removed and ran to them.

Logan barely had time to shove her behind him. Claws came out and he lunged forward and managed to stab two of the attackers. The third one put the gun to his head and fired from behind.

"Nooooo!!" she wailed seeing him collapse. Intellectually she knew a bullet wasn't enough to kill him but she still screamed in horror. She wasn't used to the atrocities of the war.

They used no guns on her. It was enough for a hand to touch her and then there was darkness. But there was no peace.


	17. Chapter 17

Logan eyed the Professor with a glare

Logan eyed the Professor with a glare. Charles was so calm, maybe too calm, regardless of the serious situation they were confronted with, and that pissed him off even more. He'd woken up alone with her taste on his lips and a horrid headache like he hadn't had in years. He'd had to stop to throw up twice on his way to the mansion to announce the invasion. The Professor hadn't looked too surprised by the abduction, it was almost as if he knew, or expected it, and he seemed to be in no hurry to go after her and save her. That infuriated Logan a great deal. Storm fussing around was not helping either.

"Is she still alive?" He enunciated the words clearly, looking straight at Xavier. It made no sense why someone would kidnap her, therefore death had to be considered, just like any other possibility. That thought alone made him cringe.

"Yes, Logan, she is still alive." The Professor nodded.

How could he know? His class five mutant powers, aided by the specially designed machine, allowed Xavier to locate mutants all over the world, but he was more and more convinced that she wasn't one of them. So, how could he know for sure?

Charles read all those question in his eyes, or maybe he just read his mind, who knew, cause he answered, "Eric wouldn't risk losing her, he's no fool."

"Why? Why is she so important to him?" Storm asked. She'd always wondered about that. The preferential treatment, and everything related to Stardust, was all a big mystery.

"He doesn't know it yet, and that's in her favor," the Professor replied with a thin and, some might say, mischievous smile.

In the silence that followed, Rogue asked hesitantly "Is she… really important?" She couldn't see why could that be. Why was she so special?

Logan found himself holding his breath while waiting for the answer.

"She is important for the cause."

Which cause was that, at least two people in that room wondered. He almost started to sound like Magneto and, when he did that, one couldn't help but wonder.

"If she's so important, we have to get her back," Iceman said. "Can we find out where he's keeping her?"

"No," Kitty answered. "There are no traces left."

"But we do know where Eric is." The Professor meant that _he_ knew. "He returned from Switzerland, last month. He has a lab 200 km from here. I guess he felt the need to be close," he smirked. "It should be enough."

"Let's go then." Logan was anxious to set to action.

"Tomorrow." Xavier lifted a hand to stop him. "He needs time to run some tests first. We can't ask our old friend to take our word for it." Was he trying to be ironic? Cause now it was not the time.

"He'll hurt her," the Wolverine insisted.

"No. Not unnecessarily." He didn't need to. On the other hand he didn't care who suffered or died when his goal required it. But she was an exception.

"And that's supposed to comfort me?!" Logan snapped.

"She will be fine," Charles insisted, with that all-knowing look that annoyed the hell out of some people.

The last time he'd been told that things were going to be fine, Jean had died and the Professor had nearly been killed. In his rage, Logan was very close to blaming it on him. After all, the Professor had been the one who'd failed. And now he wanted to risk the life of the other woman Logan had feelings for? Not in Logan's lifetime.

"Damn right she will be!" he snapped and left, slamming the door.

"Let him go, Storm." Charles stopped her when she wanted to go after him. "He needs to calm down. It's understandable."

He hadn't foreseen the relationship that appeared to be forming between Logan and the so-called non-mutant, but it was unavoidable now. Yes, it was sort of getting in the way, but at least she'd found someone who was going to protect her, even against her will, and it was small compensation for two people who had never gotten things easily and lacked the affection.

"Meanwhile we'll work on the plan for tomorrow. We're gonna pay Eric a visit."


	18. Chapter 18

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were the bars

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were the bars. She'd always had this idea of prison being dark, humid and cold, but the air was dry, the walls were painted white and it wasn't cold at all. In fact it looked more like a lab than a cell. Except for the bars.

She got up from the bed she was laying upon unrestrained, and she stumbled to the middle of the small room, feeling a little dizzy. No windows. No light sources. The soft, faded light was coming from somewhere outside, in the corridor. A bed with no cover or pillow, a table pinned to the floor, a small trash bin, that was all there was to it. Nothing else. A small universe, where people could go insane in peace, if left alone there. They wouldn't expect to keep her in there, would they? Who were they and where was she? The camera aimed at her from the wall on the other side of the bars failed to answer.

The bars felt cold when she touched them. She shivered, wishing she'd had Logan's strength to bend them, or his claws to rip through. But she had none. So she sighed and leaned against those shiny metal bars for a moment. The way to freedom. She hadn't felt free since she'd walked up the steps leading to the mansion for the first time, years ago. How life changed.

Now she wished she was back there, having breakfast on the first floor terrace. Was it even day or night? She couldn't tell. They had taken away all her accessories, wrist watch included, leaving her only her clothes and shoes. She had a feeling she'd been strip searched and for some reason was glad she couldn't remember that.

The sound of footsteps walking along the corridor made her cock her head and step away from the bars.

"Come," one of the two men she didn't recognize said and the bars slid to the side. "No funny tricks," came the warning.

There were no tricks, but she wasn't going to tell them that. She followed them in silence, not wanting to make things worse than they already were. They weren't the ones in charge, so they didn't really matter. Someone else held all the cards. She intended to make him drop them. Somehow.

She wasn't that surprised when she saw Magneto in the larger room she was taken to.

"Hello, my dear. You're not easy to find," he greeted her.

"Hello, uncle."


	19. Chapter 19

As someone who went through life growling and glaring Logan had a good experience with speeding up things

As someone who went through life growling and glaring, Logan had good experience with speeding things up. It didn't mean the Professor was impressed by his act but it did buy him a couple of hours ahead of the plan.

It would have looked too much like an ambush if they had assembled the whole team, therefore it was only Logan and the Professor that Storm flew to Magneto's more or less official hiding place. It was an old house, though quite bright and clean; it would have been rather nice and inviting if it hadn't been for the electric fence surrounding it.

The formalities to pass through the gate were annoyingly long and mostly unnecessary, but finally they were allowed inside and two unarmed men, obviously mutants, walked them to Eric in what seemed to be a big lab, retreating after that. He wasn't wearing the usual helmet to protect him from interfering minds and he was dressed in a simple white lab coat. Apparently, he was working.

"Charles, what took you so long?" he greeted, not surprised to see them there. In fact, he'd been waiting for the past couple of hours. He had a tough decision to make.

"I thought to let you make up your mind first," Xavier replied.

"We bring gifts." Logan shoved Mystique forward.

The woman stumbled as she tried to stand up to the force he used on her and glared back at the Wolverine. Once again, she was black and blue around the eyes and she'd never stopped hating him. It showed in the way she messed with him whenever she got the chance. Lucky for him, he hated her back just as much and made no effort to spare her. He claimed she used to look better as a blue lizard and in return she called him an overgrown rat. Yep, life was fun at the mansion when these two were around.

"My dear, we haven't seen each other in a while," he smiled pleased to see her look so good.

"Eric," she grunted, frowning at him. She wasn't going to forgive him for dumping her when she'd needed his support. After all, she had saved his powers, taking that shot for him even if, in the big scheme of things, that hadn't counted much. She had betrayed him in return and, while some might think they were even, they really weren't.

"We'll talk later about that," he nodded at her. Now that he'd been on the other side he could use her talents again and she had many, with or without the cure.

Feeling at home in the lab she knew very well, Mystique casually went to sit behind a desk. They were going to see about that talk.

"I can't read minds like you do," he turned to Xavier, "but I assume I know why you're here."

"You kidnapped one of my instructors, of course I had to come."

"Actually the New Mutants Unit did, but why split hairs?" Eric smirked and Mystique looked pointedly at him. She couldn't quite imagine him being involved with them and she had been part of it ever since the beginning. She would have known. "I must admit you tricked me. You fluttered that Jean Grey under my nose," Logan winced at the impersonal mention of that name, "and distracted me with plans of what might be, making me ignore completely the other one. Tsk tsk…" he sighed dramatically shaking his head.

"I took good care of her. That's why you brought her to me," Xavier reminded him.

"Yes, she came out wonderfully. A bit stubborn, but I suppose that runs in the family." He grinned ironically.

Logan and Storm exchanged a look. What were they talking about?

"I did the best I could, without messing with her head, as requested," the Professor asserted. "And yes, she does have a strong head," he agreed, with a genuine smile. He liked the girl, he always had. She had the qualities a mutant needed to survive, strength and intelligence, except the mutation. She made a great addition to the team, balancing the mutants' natural aggression with her clear, analytic mind.

"I'm sorry, Charles, but you can't have her." Eric seemed to read his mind. "She's mine now. She is going to work for me from now on."

A shiver went down Logan's spine. This had the potential of a huge disaster. If she switched sides with all the information she possessed about mutants, the mansion and the activities that went on in there, she would become a deadly weapon. Mutant or not, a wise mind would always win.

"Bring her here," Storm requested looking for a way to get the girl out.

"Let her choose," Logan growled. Unlike Storm, though he would give his last breath to get her out if she wanted to come with them, he was preparing himself for the worst. If she chose Magneto… Logan wondered if he still had the strength to do what he'd already done once. Why did he keep falling for the wrong women? Must be something in his genes, some sort of mutation.

"Very well." Eric nodded and signaled for the guards to bring her in.

She was tired. Not as much physically as emotionally. During the long hours of tests over tests over tests, she'd kept thinking about her options. She understood Eric's point of view, but she didn't think that it was going to work. They were never going to agree on that. So what was she supposed to do?

Waiting for someone to get her out hadn't brought much improvement to the situation. The Professor had to know what had happened, no doubt. Did he not care about her anymore? Was she not worth the risk of sending the team after her? At times she almost agreed with that; the thought of something bad having happened to Logan gave her no peace.

No more needles, she hoped with a sigh, as the guards took her back to the lab. Her face lit up when she saw who was there and she nearly smiled at the sight of Logan alive and well. She couldn't miss the tension in the air and wondered what was going on. Why was Mystique there sitting at Eric's desk? Were they proposing a trade?

"Dear girl," Eric said affectionately outstretching an arm in her direction, "sorry about disturbing your rest, but Charles wanted to see you."

"Professor," she nodded her head slightly, refraining from stepping closer to Eric and keeping a neutral position. She was wearing the same clothes as when she'd been abducted only that, in spite of all the commotion, they were clean. It was fair to assume that she'd been allowed to shower, wash her clothes and been fed a couple of good meals. Magneto was no monster, usually.

"Stardust, are you alright?" Storm asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered quietly. Her eyes were moving from one face to another, assessing the situation, lingering only one second longer on Logan's as they warmed up briefly. No time for sentimentality.

"Charles claims he wants to take you back," Eric informed her. "You must forgive him, my dear girl, he's getting old and forgot you've graduated already," he said ironically.

"Indeed, although she skipped the final year," Xavier agreed. "You should get your news up to date, Eric," he teased his friend, "she's one of my teachers now."

"Consider this her resignation then."

"Should I?" the Professor looked up inquiringly at the girl.

There was a short moment of silence during which at least one breath was being held.

"Yes."

No!

"See?" Eric put on a satisfied grin. "She's going to fight on my side from now on."

"Cut the crap, uncle, you know that won't happen." She cut his hopes short.

Eric made a grimace. Spoiled brat, you loved them and look how they treated you in return.

Uncle? Mystique choked on air. The one who'd stolen Logan's heart was Magneto's niece?

Logan was just as shocked and was having a hard time stopping his claws from coming out. Betrayal. How could the Professor take her in if he knew her connection with Magneto? Maybe she was right and he _was_ getting senile. A mental slap made him shudder, feeling his brain dancing inside his skull as the Professor admonished him for that silent remark. He didn't usually do that, but there were too many important matters at stake right now to let it go by.

Storm wasn't the only one looking at the man in the chair asking for some answers. "Did you know that?" she whispered.

"Yes. Eric brought her to me when it became clear she would be protected at the Academy. And I took her in, fully aware of who she was." More so than anyone was aware of. "She was no danger, she still isn't, except maybe to herself," he claimed. "I protected her from everyone, including you, Eric, as long as she allowed me."

"You can't protect her forever, Charles," Magneto pointed out.

"True. But you can't force her either."

"She has to choose," Eric insisted.

The Professor sighed, feeling like his arm was being twisted. This was the way Eric did things, and still they were friends. "What do you want?" he asked her.

Logan tensed again. What were the chances for her to turn against her uncle? In fact, she might dislike the Professor more than she did Eric. It was a lost cause.

There was no hesitation this time. "I want to go home."

They sure hadn't expected that answer.

"My dear, you have to choose a side, you can't stay neutral in these times." Eric tried to make the spoiled brat reason.

"Watch me," she defied him.

"Oh brother," Eric groaned, "just like her mother. I don't know how your cousin can live with her," he said to Charles.

Several pairs of eyes opened even wider. She was related to Xavier too? What was this, a bad soap opera? Logan was getting a headache.

"She's living very well, thank you," Stardust answered for him. "You both owe me," she accused them, "for bringing me here and trapping me in this hell."

She was taking the liberty to talk more freely to them than most people would, but she'd grown up playing on these two men's knees whenever they were around, which hadn't happened that often because she used to live with her family in Europe, while they were playing mutants in the States. Things had changed when her parents had sent her abroad to school, though they hadn't known in the beginning to which type of school she had been taken to. The first time she'd encountered a mutant and fully acknowledged it, it had happened on the Academy's grounds.

"It was for your own good," and mine, Eric added to himself. "Mutations often skip one generation, only to come back stronger. With us as background you had the chance to be something grand. It's why we never quite considered the Element Zero theory… until recently."

"What's the Element Zero?" Logan wanted to know.

"It's a legend that says that just like we mutants exist," Storm explained, "there also is the possibility of one person without any mutation at all, one person whose genes that can ever suffer a mutation are normal, Element Zero…"

"Bullshit."

"Watch your language, my dear, don't make me feel sorry I didn't enlist you in a manners class," Eric chided his niece.

"I am not the Element Zero," she argued.

She didn't want to be. She didn't want to be part of their glorious plan, she'd rather go teach homeless kids in Africa.

"You are," the Professor told her.

"All the tests said so," Eric agreed.

"No, I'm not," she protested.

No mutation. It was what she wanted, wasn't it? Careful what you're wishing for, Logan thought. No mutation, yes, but not to this extent. Not when she could be used and become a target. Eyebrows furrowed over his dark chocolate eyes as he made a decision and he grabbed the woman pulling her by his side.

"She isn't," the Wolverine stated and she watched him surprised. What did he know?

She was even more surprised when a strong hand went behind her head to keep her still and he kissed her roughly. Then without a warning a claw popped out and slashed her arm making her cry out in pain and also shock. Everyone watched fascinated as the blood dripped to the ground through the fingers of the hand she used to hold the injured arm and then how the bleeding stopped, the wound slowly closing, leaving only a mark of dried blood on her arm. The pain remained for a while though.

"What did you do?" The Professor looked accusingly at the Wolverine.

"You broke her!" the other man exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything. She couldn't do that if there wasn't a mutation, now could she?" he retorted still holding onto her. Logan didn't know how that had been possible but, as something similar had happened before, he'd taken a huge risk and tried it again. Show off, she would have said, if she hadn't been so startled.

"But the tests said…" Eric stammered.

The Professor shook his head. "No no no… this can't be it… I'm sure… there has to be something else…" he frowned at Logan not appreciating such demonstrations. "Your mutation, Logan, is very strong… her system couldn't handle it and had to take some of the charge to protect itself." He seemed to have found an explanation.

"Like Rogue?" Storm wondered.

"No, she's not taking… she's being invaded," he clarified.

Stardust blushed at the mention that oddly reminded her of another type of 'invasion' and grumbled, "I could have lived without knowing that," while rubbing her still aching arm and glared at Logan, who took the burn without flinching. He was getting used with those glares.

The doors to the lab opened and a man, moving with fluid motions, waltzed into the room. "Everything's arranged, we can start the press conference any time." The heels clicked against the tiles while he fluttered the end of the cape.

The Hat! Logan and Stardust exchanged a glance. It was impossible not to recognize him and it was clearly a man.

"He's not another one of your relatives, is he?" he muttered under his breath.

"No, you've seen the worst of them already," she replied. Still, it didn't explain what the Hat was doing there.

Mystique growled. One of the leaders of the New Mutants Unit was working for Magneto. Eric had been behind this all along and she hadn't known. Cheated, again. Slowly she rose from the desk and slid away.

"What press conference?" Storm was almost afraid of the answer, afraid that Magneto was going to declare war again.

"We are going to announce to the world the existence of our Element Zero," Eric claimed proudly. "My solution to provoke mutation to humans was too extreme, but this way they will see that only few people, none exactly, are mutation free. And, as usual, the majority will represent normality."

"You can't do that, Eric! They'll hunt her down like a rabid dog." The Professor tried to make him change his mind.

"We will protect her. Beside they don't need her, a map of her genome will be enough. And she'll make a great symbol."

"You are wrong… so very wrong…"

While they argued Mystique took advantage of them being distracted and got closer to the Hat. The man had stolen her position beside Magneto, he had to pay for it. She had nothing left. The muscles along her long legs tensed and she threw herself at him. She was still strong and hadn't expected him to give much resistance no matter what his powers were, assuming he was a mutant. It turned out that he was.

The moment she touched him he dissipated into a thick dark cloud that surrounded her. There was that smell again, the one that Logan hadn't been able to identify. She started to suffocate.

Several things happened apparently at once. Storm produced a strong wind to blow the cloud away. Seeing that it kept hanging onto its victim Logan muttered, "I can't believe I'm doing this," and stepped into the fog to pull Mystique out. In spite of her struggle he managed to get a hold of her and he threw her aside, none too gently, against the nearest wall, half knocking her out. He was resisting the poisoning gas well but, as he couldn't grab it, he couldn't stop him from going after Mystique.

Storm came to help; whenever the Hat wasn't touching a living thing he was taking his original form, so she threw a little bolt of lightning at him, not enough to blow him up completely, but just to fry him a little. Unfortunately, he moved and the lighting hit a big machine hidden under a plastic cover that happened to be behind him. The cover burned, revealing an old prototype of Magneto's mutation-inflicting machine and, as if that wasn't bad enough, lights flickered on the control panel that had been short-circuited by the energy surge.

A large beam of shimmering blue light emerged from the machine aiming for the one that called to it. As if he could have stopped it, Logan threw himself in front of it. The beam went right through him like he wasn't even there, hungrily eating the distance that separated it from its target, the only full human in the room. Stardust.

The blue light didn't affect mutants, but there had been some catastrophic results when used on humans and Xavier somehow picked that up from Eric's agitation as he struggled to reverse the electromagnetic field. He shouldn't have been so adamant about it and made sure no one could stop the process when he'd designed it, cause it was turning against him now.

Faced with the danger, the two most powerful mutants around joined their forces to stop disaster from happening. Together, they managed to make the beam turn again and again all around the room, the light leaving behind stable traces of matter in the air. With the room hermetically sealed, it couldn't get out and it was bound to reach its goal sooner or later. It was a very advanced prototype, in perfect working condition, unfortunately. It happened when Magneto's powers ran out, leaving only Xavier to fight with the blue menace. That split second of lesser control made all the difference.

When the beam touched her she went still, her eyes on Logan, and time stopped for her. The light engulfed her, the temperature spiked higher and she felt every gene in her body breaking and combusting into that heat. With a silent gasp she exploded into thousands of bright colorful particles. Element Zero was no more. Only stardust was falling to the floor.


	20. Chapter 20

All those pretty colors… it was one of the most beautiful and in the same time saddest things Logan had ever seen

All those pretty colors… it was one of the most beautiful and, at the same time, saddest things Logan had ever seen. He couldn't believe she was gone. One moment ago she was still there, stubborn and full of life, arguing with her relatives and now she was turned to dust.

"Stop that!" he growled at Storm who was using a tornado to spin the Hat silly in a corner of the room agitating the air all around. She deserved a bit of rest, at least now.

"Whoa," the Hat gasped shaking his head in an attempt to stop the walls from spinning as he was dropped abruptly in a corner on the floor. He hadn't realised yet that one occupant of the room had disappeared.

Charles and Eric looked stunned as they watched the sparkling rain. No one seemed to be able to comprehend what had just happened.

"Her mother is going to kill me," Eric mumbled his voice loaded with honest regret for losing his niece.

_Me too_, Xavier sighed silently to himself. Though maybe not for the same reason.

"Sir… the conference?" the Hat reminded them.

"Cancel it… I'm in mourning," Eric said gloomily.

"But… we've got her genome map, like you've said, we don't need her."

The look Magneto gave him made the Hat curl up in the corner and whimper, fearing his wrath. It pleased Mystique a great deal, she hated him more than she hated the Wolverine and the Hat hadn't dared to punch her yet, sleazy rat that he was.

Storm wanted to approach Logan, but his warning growl kept her aside. She didn't know what to do, there was so much grief in that room. She looked at the Professor wondering if he was going to accept her comfort but he just shook his head.

Meantime the shiny rain had stopped, the dust gathering on the floor in a pile that, little by little, took the shape of a woman. She was laying on one side, seemingly asleep, and as more seconds passed, more details became visible.

"Logan, look…" Storm's whisper forced Logan to lower his eyes from where he was staring blindly at the empty air.

Lots of unusual things happened when mutants where involved, he told himself, as he went to kneel in front of the girl's remains. It looked like a life size bronze statue, delicate like it had been when alive, the surface shining faintly in the light. He reached out to touch it and had the shock of his life to discover that it wasn't cold. It was warm and the texture of the bare arm felt like skin. He used his hyper sensitive ears and what he heard made the big Wolverine fall on his butt with a gasp. A heartbeat.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the Professor's chair had somehow arrived next to him without him noticing it.

"Is she alive?" he asked with a voice that begged for a positive answer.

"What do you think?" Was that a smile on Xavier's face?

While his mind was arguing, his heart was telling him that she was. Hesitantly and with a shaking hand he reached to touch her again, brushing some hair off her face. The rigidity that he was associating with death was slowly disappearing.

"We should move her to a bed," Eric said. He didn't understand it either but he did care for his niece and he was curious to explore her mutation further.

"Don't touch her!" Logan growled possessively ready to fight anyone who'd dare came close to her.

Surprisingly, her uncle just smirked. She might not be strong in the regular sense of the word, but she'd sure chosen a strong partner he could only approve of. Not too bright, though. Well, you couldn't have it all; the important thing was for him to love her and he had a feeling the Wolverine did.

A soft sigh filled her chest and her eyelids fluttered.

"Hey… how're you feeling?" he rumbled down at her.

"I don't know…" she answered with a weak voice after she blinked a couple of times.

"Are you in pain?"

"Some?" It wasn't exactly pain what she was feeling but she was too messed up to tell the difference. "What happened?"

"How much do you remember?" the Professor asked.

"The machine… light… so hot…" in spite of her words she shivered, "cold…"

At that, Logan gathered her in his arms. She was still dressed, but her clothes were much thinner than they had been initially, almost see-though, having lost some of the matter that made them during the combustion and that sparkling rain, while keeping the sparkle that was slowly fading from her skin. He took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her. "Ssst… everything will be fine," he murmured, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Of course, he couldn't possibly know that for sure, but he desperately believed so.

"Now we hold the conference?"

"Shut up!" Magneto snapped at the Hat then he added on a lower voice, "She's not Element Zero anymore." Damn, he thought bitterly.

"She's got the mutation you wanted, Eric." The Professor smiled.

"So she can turn into pixie dust! What sort of mutation is that?" Eric rolled his eyes.

A pretty one, Logan thought to himself. Very few mutations were pretty, most of them were far from beautiful, and just as many were dangerous. But she couldn't even hurt a fly. He liked that. If that was all there was to it.

"Whatever it is, I'll have to enroll her back into the program. She needs to learn to control it." Even Charles didn't know what that meant. Thousands of genes in her ADN chains were broken, it was a miracle she'd survived, and, while it could be nothing more than pretty pixies, the possibilities were infinite.

Back to the academy. She grimaced. Okay... "Logan, take me home," she asked him and he lifted her in his arms and got up to take her back to the jet.

Behind them, Eric was telling Charles, "I suppose she got this from you."

"Don't worry, she got the stubbornness from you," the Professor replied.

"You wanna call her mother? I'd rather not…"

"Let her do it." He was amused by the idea of his friend being afraid to tell his own sister about what had happened to his beloved niece, but, on the other hand, he wasn't keen on announcing it to her either. They were losing courage, in their old age.

"Right… she'll know how to take her and of course, the baby can't do anything wrong in her opinion," Magneto grumbled. "Now what am I going to do with that conference?" he wondered.

"We can introduce her gene map to them," Xavier suggested. "Your theory still stands, you know?"

"And she is safe now…" he mused cocking his head.

"She will be," the other one agreed.

"That's a good idea. We can make a list of mutation degrees and ask for… certain advantages." He sounded more and more enthralled by that prospect.

"You _do_ want to rule the world," the Professor teased him.

"If it's possible," he replied with a smug grin but he was less serious this time.

"Storm, fly them back to the mansion," the Professor told the white haired woman. "I'll stick around for a bit."

Inside the jet, Stardust was still curled up in Logan's lap, not complaining at how tight he was holding her.

"I was scared…" she confessed.

"Me too," he murmured running his hand through her hair. Pretty pixies fell down his shoulder.

"I thought I'd die," she frowned.

"But you didn't." A kiss was placed on top of her head.

"Maybe I did… there's no fun in dying," she pouted.

"True." He'd nearly died countless of times, so he could only agree. "Maybe you won't have to do it again… stardust is ageless," he reminded her sounding a bit amused.

"Does that make me immortal?" she wondered.

"I don't know, we'll have to wait and see." No one could tell at this point, but it was one of the possibilities.

Her head tilted and she looked up at him to ask almost hesitantly. "Wait with me?"

A smile. "Always."

The End


End file.
